━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━

The air was immediately choked with screams and the clang of metal-on-metal. Daphne sprang for the first Career she could spot upon charging straight into the fray of the fight, knives flashing, her face twisted in a ferocious sneer.

Her target was a lean boy only a couple inches taller than her. He yelped as Daphne flung herself onto him, knocking him off his feet. The two of them went tumbling on the hard cobblestones, the boy's head taking the brunt of the impact. His weapon, a metal spear, was knocked from his grasp. Almost immediately, he struck upwards, flinging Daphne off of him like a ragdoll.

Pain laced Daphne's elbow as she landed hard on the ground, one of her knives clattering out of her hand. She hastily scooped it up, launching to her feet as Azalea came up from behind the Career. She wrapped her rope around his throat, his eyes bugging in surprise.

All he had to do was ram his elbow backwards into Azalea's stomach and she fell with a yelp. She balled up on the ground, clutching her stomach. The Career loosened the rope around his neck and tossed it to the side. Daphne, meanwhile, had lunged for his spear, throwing it as far as she could, nearly wrenching her shoulder in the process. The spear sailed all the way to the other side of the courtyard, skittering into an alleyway, far out of reach.

Daphne didn't waste a moment. She swung for the Career with her knives, aiming at the space between his collarbones that wasn't covered by the metal breastplate he wore.

The Career could fight just as well unarmed, which Daphne shouldn't have been surprised. He'd probably been training to fight his entire life. He grabbed Daphne's wrist mid-strike, smacking the knife clean out of her grasp.

Daphne thought back to her lessons with Pavel, as well as Theia all those nights ago. She hooked a foot around the Career's ankles. His eyes flashed with alarm as he stumbled, but he didn't release Daphne's wrist. But Daphne was lucky to have two arms. She stabbed forward with her other hand.

The Career shifted last minute as he recovered his balance, sending Daphne's knife sparking off his breastplate. He easily disarmed her then. Before she knew it, Daphne had been shoved violently backwards. Her temple slammed into the cobblestones, rattling her skull and momentarily making her vision swim.

The Career wasted no time. He lunged forward, wrapping his hands around Daphne's throat. Daphne tried to curse, tried to spit in his face as her neck spasmed in protest.

Damn it, right when my throat was just recovered. She grimaced and kicked upwards, but he was kneeling on her legs, trapping them in place.

Meanwhile, Azalea had vomited on the ground, but she'd pulled herself to her feet. Once again, she attacked from behind, wrapping her rope around the Career's neck and jerking him backwards. He gave a strangled howl as Azalea dragged him off of Daphne with pure strength, too surprised to do much.

In the precious seconds that followed, Daphne had snatched one of her knives lying on the ground within arm's reach. She sprang to her feet. A snarl was on her face as she plunged the knife straight in between the Career's collarbones.

Blood splashed onto Daphne's face. The Career's eyes were locked in a state of bewilderment, his mouth agape as he slowly looked down to the knife protruding from the base of his throat. Daphne's hands shook as she yanked out her knife. He slid to his knees, then collapsed onto his side. Red froth bubbled at his mouth.

For a few heartbeats, Daphne stared down in horror. Her fingers tightened around her knife, whose hilt was now slippery with blood.

Azalea curled her rope around her arm and promptly punched Daphne on the shoulder.

"Snap out of it!" She hissed. "Go get your other knife, we have to help the others!"

Daphne blinked, shifting her gaze onto Azalea. Her brain was fogged with adrenaline, her heart pounding in her head. She took one last look at the Career, dead by her hands, and picked up the knife he had flung from her grasp a few yards away.

Daphne knew she couldn't dwell on the kill for much longer. She scanned her surroundings at the ongoing battle. There was one more Career dead on the ground. One of the District Seven tributes was also eerily still, blood slowly spreading in a puddle beneath him. The other District Seven tribute was fighting with Pavel, tears streaming down his face. Both he and Pavel were bleeding from several wounds, Pavel slowing down significantly from a slash on his arm.

Daphne could care less about the District Three tributes, so her gaze immediately flicked to Rye and Makani. Rye didn't seem to have more than a few bruises, but Makani was wincing and holding her arm. It looked dislocated.

Daphne's brows furrowed. She'd thought she'd seen a flash of orange hair in the cornucopia, but it turned out to be a Career girl from District Two, currently fighting Rye. It was not Glory.

Hadn't Makani said there were seven Careers left? If so... where were the other two?

The redheaded Career fell as Rye bashed her across the head with his crossbow. Makani lunged forward, using her good arm to sink a knife into the girl's throat.

This would've been an easy victory. There was one Career left, the one battling Pavel and the remaining District Seven boy. But Daphne's blood ran cold as she spotted movement from an alleyway behind Rye and Makani.

Out burst Glory and a stocky boy from District Four, brandishing weapons and steel-cold roars of fury. Rye and Makani hastily turned, shouting in surprise. Glory charged straight for Makani, her silver eyes lit with bloodlust, her knives flashing in the moonlight.

Daphne was moving then, dashing towards them. Fire seared through her veins as Glory shoved Rye aside, sending him sprawling on the ground, then slashed towards Makani. Daphne flung her knife wildly, screeching in fury. Red clouded her vision, from either her anger or the blood dribbling into her eyes from a cut on her forehead.

Glory would not touch Rye or Makani and get the last say.

Through her sudden rage, Daphne's aim had been reckless. And Makani, unaware of Daphne's shot, had lunged for Glory.

Suddenly, it was like everything was in slow motion. The knife curved, aimed too far to the left. Daphne's fury morphed to alarm. Her shriek of rage turned into a shout of warning. Within the same second, she watched her knife fly towards what she'd intended was Glory, now arcing towards Makani in her lunge to attack.

Blood exploded. A scream tore from Makani's throat. From Rye's, from Daphne's. A smirk worked its way across Glory's face as Makani crumpled.

Daphne's knife jutted from the back of her neck.

For the next few heartbeats, Daphne didn't know what to do. How to react. There was another cry of agony across the courtyard. In the corner of her vision, she spotted Pavel retreating, sprinting into an alleyway. The District Seven boy and the Career they'd been battling both lay dead on the cobblestones. Sylla and Lua were nowhere in sight.

Glory and two remaining Careers stalked towards Daphne, Azalea and Rye. Rye had tears pouring down his face as he stared down at Makani, knowing that if he made a move towards her, the Careers would rip him apart.

The cannon shots came. Eight total. Five Careers were dead. The two boys from District Seven were dead. Makani was dead.

Daphne bolted. Tears began to blur her vision as she sprinted for the nearest alleyway. She was tired. She knew she couldn't face Glory and win in hand-to-hand combat like this. She braced herself for a knife in the back. It would be an easy kill for Glory.

But nothing came. Daphne made it into the alleyway, Azalea and Rye fast on her heels.

They ran for what felt like hours. Daphne never stopped, she couldn't stop. Or else the weight of what she'd done would catch her, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to survive the impact.

***

"Wait," Glory barked as the only other remaining Career, a boy from District Four named Wade, began to give chase. Wade glared over his shoulder at her, but halted nonetheless. The curved sword dangling at his side glinted wickedly.

"Let them get away," Glory mused, twirling a knife between her fingers. It would've been so easy, so clean to launch it straight for Daphne's exposed back as she and her goons had escaped through the alley.

"Why?" Wade demanded. He gestured around at the bodies littering the courtyard, five of whom were fellow Careers. "They killed all of our allies!"

"Yes, but you know how I want to face Daphne, don't you?" Glory continued, a smug smile spreading across her face. "I want to fight her fair and square, not when she's already beat up and trembling from accidentally killing her ally." Glory scoffed and kicked at Makani's body, sprawled before her.

"Only when the ranch-girl is at full strength will she be worthy of fighting me. After all, she ruined my dress at the Banquet." Glory's silver eyes gleamed.

"I want it to be a good, satisfying fight. Ending with her blood soaking my knife."

***

Daphne pressed herself against the adobe wall, her face in her hands.

They'd run for a long, long time. And now, a good distance away from the cornucopia, they'd been forced to stop or else all three of them would've passed out from the exertion.

The image of Makani, going down with Daphne's knife in her neck, played on repeat in Daphne's brain. She let out a choked sob, fighting for breath, her entire body trembling. Her legs wanted to give out, to let her collapse on the ground and never get up. But she remained standing, leaning against the wall as if it were her lifeline.

I killed her.

I killed her I killed her I killed her I killed her I killed her-

"What the hell, Daphne?" Rye shouted, his voice hoarse with grief. He'd cried himself dry, his eyes bloodshot and swollen.

"I'm sorry," Daphne whispered. She was perfectly aware that 'sorry' would not cut it. Nothing would. "I was aiming for Glory- Rye- I'm sorry-"

"It doesn't matter," Rye spat, fiery rage radiating off him. Daphne flinched, tears welling up in her eyes once again. "It doesn't matter, because it was your knife who severed her neck."

"I know," Daphne whimpered. "I was trying to hit Glory, but my aim was off- I was too angry, I threw it too fast, I never intended for it to hit Makani-"

"That's the thing I've noticed about you, Daphne." Rye hissed venomously. "You let your emotions blind you, make you reckless. Want examples? You punched Azalea in the face during the Reaping. You refused to join Makani's alliance in the first place because you're just so damn spiteful. You would rather choose the dangerous option and risk your pelt alone, wandering aimlessly through the arena to find this Caelum guy because you're so smitten by him. When you did come back, you and Sylla were at each others' throats the entire damn time! You have no self control, Daphne, and you know it!"

Daphne didn't have a response to that. Every word he'd uttered had been true. Guilt and shame churned within her, shredding her from inside out. She felt like someone had tossed a bucket of cold water over her, leaving her confused, terrified, and shaken to the core.

Rye then shoved something into Daphne's jittering hands. It was her knife, the one she'd lent him to use for the battle. "I think this is yours."

Desperate for something else to focus on, Daphne turned to Azalea, about to ask for her other knife back. Azalea looked pale, and her forehead was drenched in sweat. Her hands were also shaking, the knife clenched tightly in one fist.

"Azalea," Daphne's voice came out weak. "May I have my knife back?"

Azalea's lips were pursed in a pale line. She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands seeming to tremble more violently.

She did not give Daphne the knife back.

Instead, she sprang. Sprang towards Rye.

Daphne barely had time to scream as Azalea plunged the knife into Rye's neck.

Rye crumpled.

A cannon shot burst before he even hit the ground.

━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━