• Athena Spring has spent her entire life carefully curating the perfect image. Perfect grades, a proud family, and the Plinth Prize nearly within her grasp, Athena has it all. However, when her plans are derailed by an unexpected twist of events, s...
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The auditorium falls silent as the chilling figure of Dr. Gaul appears on every screen in the room, her heterochromic eyes fixing every person in the room to their seats.
"Capitol citizens," she hisses, "I'm afraid I must interrupt our Games to announce a tragic loss, one that affects us all".
Athena sits up, her glance finding Persephone who returns her look with worried eyes.
"Felix Ravinstill, son of our beloved President, has this morning succumbed to his injuries sustained in the rebel bombing".
An outraged gasp bursts from the audience as Felix's lifeless corpse flickers onto the screen, sickly pale and covered from head-to-toe in bruises. Athena looks away, bile rising in her throat as her stomach twists with nausea. A stifled sob from Persephone draws Athena's attention back to the screen, just as Dr. Gaul's face twists into a sneer.
"Out there in the Districts, they'll be celebrating this young boy's death as a triumph!" she continues, venom dripping from her voice, "I will not allow my Games to give our enemies such a victory!"
Despite the tragedy, Athena finds herself scowling at Dr. Gaul's words, especially since she suspects that the Districts had nothing to do with the bombing after all. As she stares up at Dr. Gaul's cold, flickering eyes, Athena sees no remorse, no empathy for Felix nor anyone else. In her eyes, there is just evil.
"I swear to you... here and now..." Dr. Gaul spits, her gaze hardening, "Before the sun goes down tonight... a rainbow of destruction will engulf our arena, even if it means there's to be no Victor in these Games!"
A rainbow of destruction.
Athena had heard that before. Her mind darts back to Clemensia, still trapped in her hospital bed as she slowly turns into a serpent.
"She said something about a rainbow of destruction... I don't know what that means!" she hadsaid.
The realisation hits Athena like a sledgehammer to the chest. Dr. Gaul is going to release the snakes into the arena.
Her head whips towards Coriolanus, the only other person who knows about the snakes. He's staring at the screen coldly, his hands twitching over his pocket. Then he begins to walk away.
No. She won't let Coriolanus outsmart her again. Before Athena can process what she's doing, she's out of her seat, striding after Coriolanus as he leaves the auditorium.
***
Athena's heart hammers in her chest as she bursts through the auditorium doors, the echo of her footsteps a stark contrast to the silence that hangs heavy in the air. Her eyes scan the dimly lit corridor for any sign of Coriolanus. The faintest sound of shuffling feet draws her attention to the bottom of the stairs, where the figure of Coriolanus looms, his back turned to her, a hand lingering suspiciously near his pocket.
