𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

𝟎𝟖. 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩'𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

— 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

"If you don't get in here, you're going to miss it," Rena called out to me from the next room. I simply rolled my eyes; however, I did heed her warning and meander my way over to stand behind her.

Artemisia had also snuck into the room, finding a seat in the corner while Atticus did the opposite. He couldn't enter a room and not announce his presence.

"Well, let's see how you did," Atticus remarked, clapping his hands together. Rena had assumed the comment was about her—she did with everything really—yet Atticus's eyes never left mine as he took the seat beside Artemisia.

And that's when Caesar Flickerman flashed up on the screen. He leapt into his introduction, going on for a few minutes before transitioning into the reason everyone in panem was watching, "As you know the Tributes are rated on a scale of one to twelve after three days of careful evaluation. The gamekeepers would like to evaluate..."

On the screen flashed an image of the aforementioned tributes with their scores. It was like the room held their breath as they waited for each name to be called out.

From District One: Lux, score of ten.
From District One: Halo, score of ten.

I'd expected high scores from our allies, but that didn't mean a small part of me had wished they'd monumentally screwed up. And then my own name flashed up the screen. I closed my eyes, almost as if I was willing to completely miss the moment; however, Atticus had risen and joined me at my side to clap a hand on my back. I opened my eyes and allowed a surprised chuckle to escape my lips.

From District Two: Romulus, score of eleven.
From District Two: Rena, score of ten.

Rena narrowed her eyes as she glanced over her shoulder in my direction; however, a haughty look quickly replaced her bitterness as if she didn't really care all that much. "So what'd you do to earn a score like that."

I glanced over at Atticus as if asking for approval. He simply shrugged, leaving the decision up to me. Nonchalantly, I cleared my throat and made my way across the room to take Atticus's chair. "I proved I wasn't afraid to spill blood."

"You cut a peacekeeper?" Rena asked, her eyes widened incredulously. "Do you realize how risky that is?"

"And what might the Capitol actually do about it?" I asked. "If I go into that arena and die, there's nothing they can do. And if I win, I'm golden—untouchable."

Artemisia was harder to read. Her jaw was set, and her eyes always looked like they were deep in thought. Always calculating, always searching for a weak point. "How deep was the cut?"

"I'd say you could live without a pinky finger," I replied, leaning back in my chair as I turned my direction back toward the television. From my peripherals, I could see that Rena's jaw had dropped.

From District Three: Xavier, score of eight.
From District Three: Electra, score of seven.

From District Four: Beckett, score of nine.
From District Four: Marlowe, score of seven.

From District Five: Edison, score of six.
From District Five: Joule, score of eight.

From District Six: Otto, score of six.
From District Six: Mercedes, score of five.