❝say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair❞

"FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH. For richer or poorer. I promise to love and cherish you each day," Annie vowed as they stood in front of the entirety of District 13. Isla was sitting in the front on Annie's side, and Lexa was doing the same on Finnick's side because they had been appointed Maid of Honor and Best Man, but neither of them wanted to stand in front of the crowd.

Lexa had to have surgery after the shooting, but everything went well, according to her doctors. They got the bullet out and patched her up, fixing any internal damage. She could now stand and walk around without it hurting too much. Katniss, on the other hand, had been completely fine for the most part. Isla was glad that they were all okay.

"I, Finnick Odair, take you, Annie Cresta, as my wife from this day forth," Finnick told the girl, and Isla allowed her eyes to drift across the aisle to see Lexa already watching her. They smiled at each other as they listened to his promises, knowing that even though they weren't the ones up there, they were promising the same thing. "Together or apart, we will always be united. One life, one purpose, one destiny."

"You may kiss the bride," the officiator informed him, and Finnick wasted no time before pulling his wife in for a kiss. The entire room erupted in claps, and Isla grinned at how happy they were. They deserved it after everything they had gone through.

Isla was on the dance floor, spinning around Finnick and Annie with a couple dozen other people as the newlyweds danced in the center of the circle. She laughed as she unlinked arms with the people beside her to shuffle around the dancefloor with Pollux, one of Cressida's cameramen.

Lexa was standing off the side with Katniss when Johanna came up to them, noticing the upset expression on the Everdeen woman's face. "You saw Peeta, didn't you?" Katniss just looked at her for a moment, not answering. "Did you tell him 'hi' for me? We're old friends, you know. We had adjoining cells in the Capitol. We're very familiar with each other's screams."

"I'm going to kill Snow," Katniss announced to them, but neither of them seemed that surprised. In fact, Lexa was shocked that she had not tried sooner. "Nothing good is safe while he's alive. And I can't make another speech about it. No more cameras. No more propos. No more Games. He needs to see my eyes when I kill him."

Johanna began snickering, which caused Lexa to start laughing as well. Katniss looked between them like they were absolutely insane, wondering what was so funny. Lexa, seeing the confused look on the girl's face, explained, "It's about damn time."

"They're shipping supplies to the front line from hangar two around midnight tonight," the Mason woman informed the Everdeen girl. "Medicine, pain killers. I was gonna go steal some for myself, but I guessI could just stay here and cover for you."

"Anybody can kill anybody, Katniss, even the President. You just have to be willing to sacrifice yourself," Lexa assured her. She knew that it could be done, as long as Katniss gave it her all.

"Go. Don't you want Snow to see you dance?" Johanna asked, and Katniss just smiled slightly before heading off the the dance floor. The Mason woman turned to her friend, waiting for her to do the same. "Go get your girl."

Lexa rolled her eyes but wasted no time in following Katniss to the dance floor where Isla was spinning in a circle with everyone else. She spun off, and she immediately landed in the brunette woman's arms. Surprised, she raised her eyebrows at the older female because she didn't think she was the dancing kind. Lexa told her, "You know, I think it's a tradition for the best man and maid of honor to dance."

"Is that a tradition?" Isla quizzed teasingly, just wanting Lexa to admit that she wanted to dance with her.

She gasped when Lexa pulled her closer so that their noses were almost touching, and they began spinning around with the rest of the couples as the Armada woman muttered, "It is now." The blonde girl laughed and continued to dance. After a moment, a weird look falls on Lexa's face.

"What's up? What's going on?" Isla asked, noticing the look on the woman's face because it had all of a sudden gotten more serious. The music shifted to a slower tempo at the perfect time, which allowed them to talk instead of jump around. It was probably better for Lexa's wound anyway.

Lexa glanced around them before leaning in even closer so that it looked like they were having a romantic, private conversation. She spoke in a voice barely above a whisper so that only Isla could hear over the music. "Katniss is headed to the Capitol tonight. She wants to kill Snow."

"It's about time," the blonde girl practically laughed out, but the solemn expression was still on the brunette's face, which made her start to worry again. Why would this be a bad thing? "Is she okay? Does she need help?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I want to go with her," Lexa informed her after a short pause. She looked like Isla was about to yell at her or something, which just confused the blonde girl even more because why would she be mad about that? Sure, it would be dangerous, but they had been through worse.

The Angler woman nodded enthusiastically because there was no way in hell that she was going to let Snow get killed when she was not there to see it. "Hell yeah, we want to come with her. No way I'm going to miss Snow getting killed."

"Isla, you're still too weak to fight," Lexa told her, which was not totally untrue.

The blonde's eyes widened in shock because there was no way that the woman who just had surgery to get a bullet removed from her side was telling her that she was too weak to fight. If anything, it was Lexa that might struggle, but Isla was not trying to stop her from going. "No, I'm not. You're the one that just got shot!"

"I can't lose you again," the Armada woman started because it had been too painful to wonder where Isla was and how she was doing, knowing that Snow had her in his clutches. She did not even want to imagine what she would feel like is the blonde got hurt, or worse...

"And I can't lose you," Isla countered. She slid her hands up to Lexa's neck to pull her face closer once again. She looked her right in the eye to make sure that she understood and believed every word that came out of her mouth. "We stay together, and we have each other's backs. Always."

The brunette nodded after a moment, and she glanced over to the blonde man that was dancing with his new wife. She did not want to ruin the fun, but she knew he would kill her if she did not tell him about the plan. "Okay. I'll let Finnick know. If we talk to Coin, I'm sure we can leave tomorrow."

"Thank you," Isla replied with a grateful smile on her face. Lexa still had this look on her face, though, which was making Isla wonder if there was more to the story that she was holding back. "Is that everything? Why are you still looking at me like that?"

"No reason. I'm just happy," Lexa responded as they swayed back and forth to the slow beat. She had never thought that she would ever feel that happy. After the Games, she thought her life would be one of torture and nightmares, but there she was.

"I'm happy too," Isla assured her, the corners of her lips twisting upwards once again. She leaned in and pressed her lips against the other woman's, and Lexa wasted no time in kissing her back. Once she pulled back, she whispered excitedly, "Now, let's go kick some Capitol ass."

《✤》

THEY TOUCHED DOWN IN THE CAPITOL EARLY THE NEXT MORNING. A man drove them to the rebel base where all of the squadrons were preparing to invade the city. Technically, they were just outside the Capitol, but they would be inside soon enough. They were led to a tent, and once they saw the familiar face of Katniss Everdeen, their escort left them.

"Finnick?" Katniss called, his being the first face that she saw. She glanced between the three tributes heading toward them and began walking to meet them halfway. She asked, "Are you guys with us?"

Lexa nodded as the girl reached in for a hug, and they embraced like they had been friends for years. As Katniss turned to Isla to hug her next, the brunette responded, "Looks like it."

"That was a short honeymoon," the youngest girl pointed out when she hugged Finnick. It was true. The Odair man only got a few hours with Annie before they had to leave. It did not seem to bother him that much, though, because he would see her after their victory.

He just waved the girl off as he pulled away, and he smirked, ready to get a move on and take over the Capitol, a city full of people that had tortured him and his friends for years and years. "Yeah, well, I guess we're gonna have to have one in the capitol. After we take it."

"Gather 'round," Boggs called to them, and they stopped their reunion to go back to the tent where the plans were being made. "Squad 451, you're my unit. Lieutenant Jackson is my second-in-command. Each one of you is elite in some form of combat. But we are a non-combat unit. So we'll be following days behind the front-line troops."

"You're to be the onscreen faces of the invasion. 'The star squad.' It's been decided that you're most effective when seen by the masses," Cressida explained further, but judging by the looks on all of the tributes' faces, they were not happy with that. How were they supposed to kill Snow if they were just making movies the whole time? They wouldn't even get close enough.

Gale frowned, and as much as Lexa hated to agree with him, she nodded her head along when he asked, "So we're not gonna fight?"

"You'll do whatever you're ordered to do, soldier. It's not your job to ask questions," Boggs answered, and Lexa would've laughed at Gale being yelled at if it weren't for how mad she was that she was just going to be running around and hiding from pods. "Our instructions are to shoot propaganda footage on the battle-scarred streets of the capitol. You were handpicked to intimidate their forces."

"And inspire surrenders," Cressida added.

"Even though we'll be working on abandoned streets miles behind the front lines, I guarantee you, wherever they put us, it will not be safe. This is a war zone. It is likely that we'll encounter both active pods and peacekeepers. You're considered high-value targets to the capitol. In the event of capture, you'll be given a nightlock pill. A poison that acts immediately. Lieutenant Jackson, do the honors."

Jackson began handing out the little containers that contained the pills to each of them. Once the pill hit Isla's hands, something went through her. She held death in her hand, and it felt weird. She stuck it a pocket on her vest that was just wide enough to hold the small canister.

"I've already briefed you on the pods. I remind you, they are on every block. Our unit has been given a Holo. A database that contains a detailed map of the capitol and a list of every known pod. These pods can trigger anything from bombs to traps to mutts. We cannot move without this device. There's no guarantee that our database is complete. There could be new pods that we're not aware of. Because we don't want the gamemakers to know we have this intel, it has a self-destruct on it. You flip this switch, say 'nightlock' three times, and it blows itself and anything within a 10-foot radius. Stay within our unit. Even with the Holo, it is likely that new pods have been set. Whatever they contain, they are meant to kill you."

Once Boggs was done talking, there was a short moment of silence before it was filled with Finnick's unusually smug voice. He announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Hunger Games."