lovelorn // sejanus plinth

CHAPTER 1-

MINERVA stared straight ahead, doing her best to keep her head up. Squashed between Sabyn and Allegra, she shifted, trying to see the stage over Cybele Hadley's tall blonde head. It was lined with Peacekeepers, clad in white armor, guns at their sides. Standing in the middle, Mayor Blackwell, who detested Minerva for existing, dug his hand deep into a glass bowl filled with white slips of paper. He grasped at the papers for a long time, making sure to touch each slip at least once with his grimy fingers, before fishing one out from the very bottom and fumbling it open.

He took a good, long look at it, then glanced back up at the crowd, smiling like he was announcing a lottery winner. "Minerva Stone."

All eyes went to her. There were a few cheers, a few sighs of relief that it wasn't them. Her jaw tightened and she pushed forward through the crowd. Her legs were much lighter than she remembered, like she were floating in a dream. The only thing she could see was the stage, and the only direction she could move was toward it. As she mounted the steps, and shook Mayor Blackwell's stiff hand, not meeting his taunting, gloating eyes, someone called out: "Serves you right, you disgraced Stones!"

Minerva didn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her reaction, although anger coursed through her veins and she had to curl her hand up into a fist, fingernails digging into her palms, to control herself. She took a deep breath, letting out the last of her fury with an exhale, then simply turned back toward the crowd, putting on a smile as zealous as Mayor Blackwell's. Her smile faltered when her eyes landed on Marcus, in the third farthest row from the stage, his eyes wide and worried.

"It'll be okay," she stared to mouth, then froze as Mayor Blackwell read out the name for the boys.

"Marcus Stone."

Marcus blinked for a few seconds, registering what this meant. Minerva stared at him, the name going in one ear and out the other. No. It wasn't possible. The chances were so low it might as well have been impossible, and yet...

"It's Bellona's punishment!" Mrs. Hadley cried out indignantly. "Actions do not go unpunished in this world!"

"Mayor Blackwell, celebrating tonight? Seems like karma is real."

"Even in her grave, your slut of a wife never be forgiven!"

The crowd murmured in assent. Minerva locked eyes with her half-brother as he ascended the steps. His face was reddening and he looked like he was about to say something he'd regret.

"It's not worth it, Marcus," she hissed as he took his place on the other side of Mayor Blackwell, who was beginning his standard speech after every Reaping. By now, she was used to the comments everyone made about her mother, even seventeen years after her death, and she knew nothing would ever get them to see reason.

"They're disrespecting your mother!" he spat back. She could see the veins in his neck, threatening to burst from his anger. Mayor Blackwell continued his speech, glaring at Minerva, but it didn't faze her. He'd never liked her from the start, for something way out of her control.

"And what can we do about that?" she challenged Marcus, arching a brow, and he paused, at a loss for words. She winked. "Follow my lead."

She crossed behind the Mayor to Marcus's side, and grabbed his hand. Gripping it tightly, she brought it up to the sky, a big smile plastered on her face. Marcus looked at her, and nervously mimicked her expression, just as the Mayor wrapped up his speech, frowning at them.

"You can't both win!" Cybele spat out. "Only one of you can return, and I hope it's neither."

Minerva kept the smile on her face. Hand clamping Marcus's like a vise, she called out, "We'll come back. The both of us. Just you see. We'll be back."