lethal
020 ─── together .
" you have to win "
rowan's view
ℑ knew we wouldn't both survive, even as I let myself remember what it was like to feel something other than fear. I could still feel a sense of hope as we walked next to each other, his arm just barely brushing against mine. It took the memories of my sisters and mother, and even Gale to remind me that if it came to me versus Cato, I would have to fight.
I bit my lip before risking it, looking up towards my new ally. It seemed odd to think of him as an ally, because even then I knew he meant much more to me. I had never loved another in the way characters did in books, and wasn't sure if I even knew what it felt like. Surely, this wasn't that, because I didn't believe that I would throw myself in harm's way for him, though that had always seemed like an outlandish gesture of love to me anyways.
I did care for him, as he had admitted he cared for me. I wished desperately that we would both walk out alive, and I wouldn't have to endure the pain losing him would bring. Would I even be able to go back to my life, as it had been, without being haunted by the memories of him?
The sunlight edging over the mountains in the distance framed Cato's figure, showing once again just how large he was; born and bred to fight in these games... and he had put that at risk several times for me. I had done the same.
Yes, I decided. If I left that arena, I would never forget him.
At that moment, he looked down at me, an uncharacteristically warm smile pulling on his features. It faltered, however, when his gaze edged down to my cheekbone, where the mark of Clove's knife had left a gash that still stung. "We should clean that," he said, his voice rough. I could see his hand falter from the grip on his sword, but he was not accustomed to showing affection, and neither was I.
I faced forward, shaking my head. "Unimportant. The game will be over before sunrise." This, and I knew that no manner of cleaning would be able to conceal the scar. All I could hope was that the scar would serve as a reminder; of these games, and of the lives I had taken.
"You do that often," he said simply, facing back and continuing. I narrowed my eyes, but before I could indignantly ask him what he meant, he kept going. "Pretend like you're fine when you're not. You don't have to with me, you know," he said hesitantly, looking back down at me.
And I suddenly realized that as uncomfortable as I was with the turn of events, he was just as much, if not more so. So I felt more at ease in that moment; instead of being irritated that he was presuming how I acted, I smiled because he had noticed, and denying it wouldn't make it untrue.
I shrugged my shoulders, glancing behind us to verify that we were alone. "Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm right. If the Gamemakers have their way, we'll see Thresh by nightfall." At the thought, my hands twitched towards my knife again, as if I could feel danger approaching. Thresh was nothing like his smaller, kinder district partner, and I couldn't afford to underestimate him. Not when I was so close.
"So we have time," he persisted, looking back down at me with a lopsided smile. I suppressed a grin of my own, let out a small laugh and looked away. "You don't want it to get infected, do you?" he asked as if he already knew the answer.
I knew he wouldn't stop asking, so that was why I exhaled loudly and nodded, avoiding his eyes. Every bone in my body told me not to let my guard down. For heaven's sake, this wasn't one of those frivolous love shows that the Capitolians produced by the dozens. I should have focused on what was important. Damn him, he skewed my judgement.
My eyes widened when he grabbed my wrist; gently, yet with enough force to derail me from my path. If he had been an opponent, I would have twisted his arm, pulled it behind his back and forced it upwards. The shoulder blade is an easily exposed pressure point, but Cato wasn't an enemy anymore.
He sat me down on a conveniently placed trunk, reaching into one of the many pouches in his protective jacket. I had noticed immediately upon arriving in the arena that the Careers had well outfitted jackets, compared to the outer district tributes, whose jackets wouldn't keep out heavy rain. He pulled out a small water flask and a tin of what seemed to be ointment. He placed them down before going back in the pocket, and frowning when he found nothing.
I smirked slightly, raising my eyebrows. "Looking for something?"
He kept searching his pockets, his brows furrowed in endearing confusion. "I must have dropped it."
"Well, that's a sign. We should keep goin-" I attempted to get up, but he just dragged me back down with a look of conviction. I huffed, crossing my arms in protest. "This is ridiculous," I scowled petulantly.
It seemed as if nothing I said could make a difference, even though I knew he had the same worries about Thresh that I did. If he had been listening to good sense, we wouldn't have stopped for something so unimportant.
He held up a single finger to silence me, excitement flickering deep down in the blue eyes that I had caught myself seeing in my dreams in the nights past. I doubt he knew how he haunted me, just as I didn't know why he had chosen to save me.
"Watch this," he said before tipping his head up to the sky, searching the dome for something I couldn't see.
I chose to spend that time watching him when he couldn't see; my eyes roamed the freckles on the bridge of his nose, which were light on his warm skin, but just noticeable enough that I could see them.
"We need a cloth," he said to the sky, and I frowned before realizing who he was addressing. I waited for a few moments, watching him before I looked up just in time to see six silver silk parachutes falling from the sky. The bells rang as a celebration of aid, as if there was nothing harmful that could come inside those packages.
Cato grabbed the nearest one, twisting it open so easily that I had no doubt he had received dozens, if not more. It was no secret that the Careers received much more support from the Capitol than the other tributes, but I truly had no idea until I saw the immediate reaction of the sponsors to Cato's words.
Inside the canister laid a perfectly folded, immaculately white cloth, of some of the purest fabric I had seen in my life. The wealth of the Capitol never failed to surprise me, and remind me of the struggle for life back home.
Cato, however, seemed unbothered, and proceeded to open his flask and pour his precious water onto the cloth, reaching up to clean my cut. His eyes were completely focused on the cut, but I had nothing to focus on while the fabric brushed against the open skin, making me wince.
"Tell me something." He looked at me, puzzled by the question, so I reluctantly cleared my throat and clarified, "just, distract me. Tell me about your home." Admittedly, I didn't need distracting. More like, I needed validation for this reckless choice in trusting him.
"There's not much to tell. Most kids don't even live at home, they just spend all their time at the academy."
"And is that what you did?"
He glanced at me as if he knew what I was doing, but he still continued, "it's what my parents wanted me to do. My father won his Games, and he always wanted to say the same for at least one of his kids. I didn't want Sloane to have to leave home so early, so I went. That's, uh, actually why I noticed you when I was watching the reaping tapes."
I let out a breath, feeling something akin to belonging run through me like a drug. It took all of a few seconds, and a sentence, to make me understand that our motives were the same. Cato hadn't been the rabid killer I expected him to be, and even if he had been, I couldn't exactly judge that.
"Sloane's your sister." I phrased it as a question, but I knew it to be true. Cato nodded, smiling lightly as if a memory was playing behind his eyes. He swiped the cloth across my cheek one more time before putting it back in the canister, grabbing the ointment.
"She's turning ten this winter. She's a little fighter, too, she wants to fight in the games even though I've told her not to about a dozen times. My parents were going to have her watch my games, though, so maybe she'll change her mind after she sees."
"She should," I said before I could stop myself. A frown had found it's way to my face, and I found myself comparing little Sloane, whom I had never even met, to Prim. "Change her mind, I mean. I know that these games are a way of life where you're from, but that doesn't make it right."
Cato looked up and around; I knew he was worried about what the people of the Capitol could hear. Even so, I saw no point in hiding my opinions when no matter what happened, my life would belong to them until the day I died. If they wanted to turn my life into a spectacle, and watch me suffer, then it was they who would listen as I told Cato that it was sick, and twisted.
"You know it's true," I said, pausing, "and if you don't then you're not the person I thought you were." All it took was a simple story, and suddenly I did not feel awkward around him. "It's not right that we're here. You know that I only came here to save my sister, and that's the reason you're here too. Not because you wanted the honour of winning for yourself, but because saving them from this is more important."
He looked up at me, and for a moment my heart stopped as I waited for him to say he disagreed; to tell me I was wrong and he would strike me down for even saying such things. Adrenaline shot through my heart when he smiled smally, and nodded.
"Yeah," was all he said as he applied the ointment to my cheek, smiling as if he knew all along. I couldn't stop myself from smiling this time, and turning my head as I watched him and wondered why I had ever doubted it. He had hardly had a chance to put down the tin before I took his head in my hands and pulled him towards me.
When his lips slanted against mine, soft and gentler than I thought he could be, I could suddenly see the darkness of my future lighting. A chance at happiness that I didn't deserve, a home with just enough to get by. When his hands slipped up my back to pull me in closer, I could suddenly see Cato and I walking out of this arena together, alive. As my fingers knotted at the edges of his hair, I could see him in my life, someone to depend on when no one else was there. All things I had never wanted, but suddenly craved with everything I had as we kissed.
And in that life, we would forget the people we had killed, and the horrors we had lived. Our families would be safe, far from the reach of those who would seek to hurt us.
His thumb stroked across my cheekbone as we parted, and I was struck with the desire to kiss him again; to bring back those images of a life outside of the arena. My eyes opened and met his, heat rising on my chest when I saw the clear blue that I didn't want to stop seeing, and I knew immediately from the look in his eyes that he felt the same. It was as if, suddenly, I could understand every quirk of his lips, and tense of his jaw. The moment I let myself trust him, I felt every pressed and hidden emotion run to the surface like rushing water, and the doubts I had were washed away.
"We're going to get out of here," he promised, as if he too understood exactly what I had just seen; what I felt. His words were forceful, as if he could will them to be true simply by speaking them. "I swear, Rowan."
I shook my head, suddenly unable to look him in the eye as I felt my lip quiver. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."
Cato nodded with a tense look, searching for our gazes to meet. "I will keep this one. Even if I don't get out, you will." My neck snapped to look at him, and I was shaking my head before I even said anything.
"We're going to do this together. You said it yourself, alright?" I reached up so my hands were around his visage, my fingers still entwined in his hair.
He took a moment, and I knew he disagreed, but he still nodded and said, "together," before pulling me back to him as if he had done it hundreds of times before. I smiled into the kiss, hoping more than anything that his words were true.
When I opened my eyes, it was dark.
As I got older, and food got more scarce in District 12, I would hunt through the nights and into the morning, desperate to find something to bring home to my family. The more nights I spent in those woods, the easier it became to see things in the darkness of night, so much so that I became accustomed to the lack of brightness that came with the fall of the sun.
This was different. It was as if every ray of light had been taken, and I was suddenly robbed of sight. There was nothing but the hold I had around Cato to tie me to my body.
"Cato," I whispered, frantically blinking over and over in hopes that it would make the light come back, but no matter what I did, I couldn't see anything.
Cato squeezed my shoulder lightly, "I'm here."
I nodded even though he couldn't see it. "This must be the big finale," I whispered, digging my hands into Cato's jacket until the fabric was grasped in my palm. Despite weeks of readying myself for this exact moment, all I could let myself feel was fear; fear that those kids whose lives I had taken... fear that Peeta's life would mean nothing if I failed.
Cato started to pull me up, trying to support me as I struggled to find my feet. Without a thought, I let him slip from my fingers in favor of searching for my weapons, to make certain that I still had them. I grabbed the first one I felt, holding onto it for dear life before turning back to where I thought he was. I would have held the blade out for protection, but I didn't want to hurt Cato accidentally.
"Cato," I said hesitantly. I reached out but I couldn't find him, and the fear multiplied when he didn't answer. "Cato!" I said louder, turning around, startling when a branch cracked under my feet.
I kept turning, taking a few steps forward and reaching around me like a blind woman. I had no doubt the Capitolians were laughing at me behind those damned screens, but I continued to reach at thin air. "Please," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut as I waited for an answer.
"Rowan!" When I heard his shout, it sounded so far away I didn't even know if I could reach him. But I heard it, and without a thought, I began to run.
"Cato!" I let the scream rip through my throat, without care of who or what could hear me. I felt branches scraping against my sides, reopening wounds from the days past, but I kept running. I could feel my lungs burn, but I screamed his name again, waiting for an answer that wouldn't come.
When I hit the tree, it was at full speed, and into my left shoulder. I heard a crack and was sent flying back, into the dirt. I coughed and tried to draw air back into my lungs, using my free hand to push into the dirt. The pressure on my shoulder did hurt, which meant the crack was a simple movement of joints rather than a break, making me let out a sigh of relief.
Hissing, I pushed myself back to my feet, not bothering to brush myself off before yelling Cato's name again and again, but with no answer, I had no way to know which direction I needed to travel in.
Frustration was all I could feel in that moment. Was it not enough to lock us in this damned prison and force us to wage war upon one another? No, they had to take away my vision for their own entertainment, and watch as I made a fool of myself.
So I resolved to stand there, planting my feet in the ground I could not see. I gripped my knife with all the muscles I had in my arm, and tilted my head back to the sky. "Is that the best you can do?" I growled, knowing they could hear me even if I whispered. "COME ON!" I yelled in frustration, and I could have sworn I heard my words echo off the grand dome, coming back down on me as if they were mocking me.
Silence followed, more deafening than the sound of my own voice, and so quiet I could hear the sounds of the cameras shifting to watch me. My breaths came out in puffs, and I tried to will my hands not to shake as I waited for their response.
At first, when I squinted, it simply looked like a dot of light, but it was still the only thing I could see. It was a warm light, like what I imagined the afterlife would look like as I approached it. I knew I was not dead when the pressure of the blade against my skin proved painful, but the light continued to get larger. It casted light against the surrounding trees, so I could see their silhouettes and know I was still in the forest. In fact, the closer I got, the more my sight returned to me, so I could clearly see when the light split in two.
I squinted my eyes to confirm that I was truly seeing two lights, but dread dropped in my stomach when a third appeared, larger and closer than ever before. I began to stumble backwards when screeches pierced through the night air, so loud I had to resist the urge to cover my ears. The screeches multiplied until it was all I could hear, and it was then that they finally came into focus. I had to ask.
Muttations created by the Capitol made frequent appearances in the games, but they seldom appeared twice, and I was certain I had never seen anything like these before. They were yet another cruel twist on the name people had taken to calling me, the 'girl on fire,' as the birds that towered over me were seemingly made of flame so pure, it made their eyes glow with the embers. They were the same size as me, with cruelly sharp beaks I knew would cut me in two, and the fire resting on their wings burnt the leaves and branches as they barrelled towards me.
Screaming would have wasted time I did not have, so I resolved to turn on my heel and run like hell. The only advantage these monsters brought was the light they shone on everything around me, so I could run without hazard, unlike before. My mind flew at a mile a minute, my situation feeling more hopeless when I heard the birds scream again from behind me, and I knew they were getting closer. They were too big to kill at close range, and even with my knives I doubted I could make an accurate enough shot at the agile creatures while running for my life. Instead, I would have to find a weakness that was easily exploited, and quickly.
I grabbed at trees to pull myself forward, glancing over my shoulder to see them watching me as they expanded their radius, moving apart so they would surround me if they caught up to me. I also saw them swerve to avoid the thick trees, nearly hitting some. Though panting, I sucked in as much air as I could before I began to dart between the trees, abandoning my straight line for undetermined patterns.
They were getting even closer now that my speed was hindered, but I knew I had chosen the right tactic when I heard a loud collision followed by an ear splitting screech, and by the time I looked back, the tree the mutt had run into was on its way to the ground, already lit on fire along with the dimming embers of the bird laying beside it.
I had no time to celebrate the small victory, because the death of the one did not even make the other two falter; they continued to pursue me with even more frenzy than before. Turning, my feet pounding into the ground, shaking my sore muscles, I continued to dodge through the trees in hopes that what had worked for the first one would work for the other two. Those hopes were destroyed when I looked behind me to see that they had learned from the failings of the first one, and had elected to fly just above the height of the trees, leaving a trail of fire on the top leaves as far back as I could see. The forest behind me was becoming consumed with fire, the burning of the kindling compounding into a sound that sent me running even faster.
I couldn't let myself think about Cato. Dwelling on thoughts of him burning in the wake of these muttations would do me no good, they would not make me run faster, and they would not help me live. I had faith he would survive, and so I would too.
They couldn't see me as well, right? The trees would disrupt their vision, so hopefully it would take a while for them to catch on to a sudden change in my direction. I didn't take time to wonder if it would work; I turned sharply to the side and ran, so I was in line with the advancing flames. This was just a diversion, I knew, because no matter of distraction would make them disappear. I needed a permanent solution, something that would save my life.
Only after I passed a familiar oak tree did I realize: I was headed straight towards what would save my life. How had I not realized before? I had to extinguish the flames, and to do that, I needed water.
The very waterfall that I had taken shelter in while trying to rehabilitate Cato was just a ways away from that oak tree, and with it, a large lake. I had no idea as to how to weaponize that water against the monstrous birds, but judging by the faint sound of their screeches, I knew I had little under a minute to figure it out.
When the soft dirt under my feet changed to damp stone, I slowed my momentum to a stop. The sounds of the waterfall contrasted those of the forest fire behind me, but it was the source of water that I focused on. Turning around, I could see a few metres of distance between the shoreline and the treeline, and the firebirds were yet again in the distance, but growing closer by the second.
My father had always told me to be brave, but I did not truly understand what it meant until I was faced with things like these games. There was a great deal of difference between hunting to prevent starvation, and killing to prolong survival. Many of the choices I had to make since arriving there had been the hardest I ever had to make, as was this one. But my father would tell me to be brave if he could see me now, so I would.
"I'M OVER HERE, MOTHERFUCKERS!" I waved my arms until I was sure they'd fall off, and I knew I had grabbed their attention. My feet ground into the stone, my knife still in my hand as if it would save me from what was coming. "COME AND GET ME!"
They saw me, but they weren't angry. I needed them to be angry. "YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME? YOU CAN'T KILL ME, YOU BASTARDS!" I saw the flames in their eyes begin to glow so bright, I could have sworn they had captured the sun's light and placed them in these birds. I could feel fear climbing up my throat, but I would not let it win.
It was only when I was sure they hadn't perceived my plan, and they wouldn't have time to stop, that I twisted my body to the point that I thought it would break, and threw myself into the lake, cutting through the waters.
The thunderous sounds on the firebirds hitting the water followed me, as well as the sound of their flames extinguishing me. Their weight helped them to plummet through the water past me, the beak of one of them managing to slice my upper arm. With my eyes wide open, I watched them disintegrate as they went down, until there was nothing left but the blades that served as their bills.
All of my muscles suddenly decided to quit, so it was only the air in my lungs that brought me back to the surface. I gasped for air when I came back, reaching out for the rocks at the shore. My hands scraped when they grabbed the edge, and the cut on my arm was bleeding into the water, but I was alive. And even though it was the last thing I should have done, I began to laugh. The irony of it all was overwhelming.
Even the monsters created to kill me could not take me down.
My arms shook as I tried to pull myself up out of the water, the cool air of the night making my teeth chatter. Even so, I felt relief when I looked around and was able to see everything around me in perfect clarity, without the illumination of the firebirds; the Gamemakers had abandoned their darkness ploy for something undoubtedly more entertaining.
All traces of laughter disappeared when I realized... the birds were dead, and it was unlikely that I was what the Capitolians were watching anymore. No, there had been no cannons, and they had to be watching something.
I didn't even bother screaming Cato's name this time. I simply started running. The extra weight of the water made it even more difficult for my strained muscles to push me forwards, but I kept going, towards what I could only hope was the scene of the grand finale of the 74th Hunger Games. From the moment I stepped foot in it, the Cornucopia had seemed to be like the perfect setting for heinous slaughter, and it was the only place I could think to look for Cato.
The fire left by the muttations had grown, leaving nothing but destruction in its path. The woods were alight with the glow of the flames, and I could hear them getting closer. If it continued in this way, there would be nothing left of the forest within the hour.
I knew my instincts had been right when the sounds of combat began to reach my ears. I could hear yelling, or what seemed to be grunts of physical exertion, and the clashing of metal against metal. The land between the waterfall and the Cornucopia was vast, or rather, it had been the last time I had travelled between the two. Perhaps this was yet another thing the Gamemakers were able to change, because in less than half the time, I burst through the tree line and into the clearing.
Stopping myself from yelling out to Cato when I saw him was difficult. I saw the shadows of the two men against the surrounding fire that seemed to have swallowed the arena in a startling amount of time, inching closer with each passing second. Thresh and Cato were equally massive, and matched well, from what I could see. Distracting Cato from the battle would be foolish, but it would also be foolish to dismiss the possibility of Thresh gaining the upper hand.
It was all I could do to move closer to the Cornucopia and slink into the shadow of the massive metal structure that marked the center of our cage, hoping the structure would conceal my presence as I tried to get a better look at Cato's prospects. Thanks to the bright fire, I could see the blood seeping from the wounds on the arms and legs of both Thresh and Cato, but while Cato was focused on fighting, I saw a genuine anger in Thresh's eyes; an anger that made my hands shake. It was pure rage, and coupled with a broad frame and a sharpened crescent sword, I knew what would happen before it came to pass.
"NO!" The scream I let out chilled my bones when I saw Thresh send his sword through Cato's stomach and out the other side. I would never forget the sign of his blood on the blade, or the look in his eyes and he turned towards me before falling to the ground.
What left my mouth next was nothing short of a battle cry as I charged in without hesitation or thought. All I could see was Cato's eyes fluttering shut, and the wound I knew would prove fatal if I didn't kill Thresh soon. He needed Capitolian medics, and he couldn't get that unless I ended the games now.
From the look on Thresh's face, I knew he hadn't known I was still alive. He had likely thought the games were won as soon as he got the upper hand on Cato, but he hadn't counted on me. Fury, like nothing I had ever felt, raged through me when Thresh pulled his blade out of Cato, making him groan in pain.
It was clear to me that Thresh was expecting a duel akin to what he and Cato had been engaged in, but that was not what he would get from me. As I ran, the knife I had been holding for what felt like forever left my hands, so small in the darkness that I knew Thresh couldn't see it. It plunged into his shoulder, and his scream made me smile.
His sword was slipping from his hand, but still in his grasp by the time I reached him. His gaze snapped from the knife sticking out of his skin to me when I got within a metre, and he managed to rip the knife from his shoulder and toss it to the side, grasping his weapon, in that time. Blood joined the sweat and lake water that had drenched me when Thresh quickly swiped out, his blade just managing to scrape my collarbone before I dodged back, grabbing a knife and bending forward to strike at his leg. My blade cut his thigh, making him cry out again, his frustration mixing with the groans of pain I could still hear from Cato.
Thresh raised the crescent blade above his head, but I managed to twist out of the way before it could make contact with my skull. I swung my arm again, this time marking a red line along Thresh's bicep. I heard a yell of frustration, and saw that rage in his eyes. I didn't have time to even see what was coming when he brought the blade up. He was close enough that the cut was so deep, I felt it scrape against my ribs, and where his sword made contact near my stomach, it tore up and around to under my shoulder as I tried to get away from the pain.
The pain was like an explosion against all my nerves, and it was all I could focus on as I fell to my knees and my hands hit the ground, my knife falling from my grasp. My head hung with unbearable weight, my chest heaving as I tried to breath in, but was overwhelmed by the stinging from my exposed ribs.
My gaze shifted from the grass over to Cato, whose chest was still moving, but his eyes had shut, and his blood was seeping into the ground like a river from a mountain. I coughed when Thresh's foot made contact with my stomach, kicking me backwards. He kicked again, and all of the muscles that had been pushed to the very edge when I was running from the muttations were giving out, and I couldn't do anything. The weakness in me let out a sob, but it was choked when I felt Thresh reach down and grab my throat in his large hand, pulling me to my feet.
The sick sense of accomplishment in Thresh's eyes made me nauseous. Instead of striking me down, he tightened his grip around my throat and lifted my scrawny weight off the ground. I could only make weak sounds as he choked me, watching the life drain from me.
I was close to giving up. With Cato helpless on the ground next to me, and my breath being taken away, my chances were slim. I could remember the faces of everyone I had murdered, and knew that if they could all see my position, they would cheer for my death; for their own revenge. Surely I deserved this; perhaps this was penance for everything I had done.
But my sisters, sitting at home and watching this play out before them, helplessly. They did not deserve to watch me die like this, to watch me give up and let him win.
In a last effort, I reached into my belt and pulled my last knife out, raising it with all my strength and aiming for Thresh's heart. I wasn't quick enough, and my wrist was caught by Thresh's other hand... but to do that he had to drop his sword. So I did the same.
Everything slowed as I watched the knife fall from my left hand and into my right, aiming the knife right under his sternum, and when I shoved it through the skin, I felt it hit his heart. His eyes widened right before his heart stopped, and he died. His grip slacked off on my wrist and neck, his body slumping to the ground as the cannon let loose.
I fell to the ground next to my final victim, feeling the blood trickle from the wounds on my arm and torso, across my skin and onto the dirt. I spat into the ground to rid my mouth of the sweat and blood, coughing afterwards as I drew air back into my exhausted lungs.
Even as my body was shuddering to recover, I was still pulling myself over to Cato with every last bit of strength I had. He was still alive, he had to be. I couldn't be without him, I couldn't survive what was to come if he was not with me. I needed him more than I had even realized, but I understood when my hand reached out and grabbed his arm, and the sudden feeling of completion washed over me.
Seconds after my skin made contact with Cato's, unconsciousness washed over me. The last thing I heard was the victory song playing around me before everything was gone.
xxx
n o t e s
here it is! the long-awaited conclusion to 'lethal!' i'm so sorry to have kept you all waiting! i struggled to find inspiration for a very long time, and my schoolwork has been drowning me lately, but as soon as i was inspired for this chapter, i sat down and wrote under 3am! of course i had to edit all of my mistakes in the morning, but i was so excited to give this to you guys!
i've had some people wondering if this is going to be the only book following rowan's story, and while this is the final chapter, there will be an epilogue following, and a second book will be released after that.
thank you all so much for following this story with me and staying with it! i hope you enjoyed!