A SOMBER MOOD FELL OVER PANEM THE FOLLOWING MORNING.

It seemed even the birds and the animals knew what was coming. There were no smiles to be seen, no jolly laughter or hearty conversations taking place. Everyone seemed to be dying inside as the beginning of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games loomed over their heads like an anvil. They moved through the motions, barely present in the moment as televisions broadcasted Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith chatting away merrily about the Tributes and the final odds while the large clock behind them counted down the seconds until that death cannon sounded again.

Aella felt numb inside but her fingertips tingled as she stared at herself in the mirror. Palex was yet to see a flicker of emotion swipe across her face or seep into her eyes. For a girl who used to wear her heart on her sleeve she was now nothing but an icy statue. Her dead-eyed gaze haunted him as he dressed her.

All he felt was dread eating away at his stomach. He couldn't even begin to think what she felt inside. Did she feel anything? Was her brain working on autopilot? The answer was yes but he would never know. She wasn't even sure of her name she was so separated from the world at that moment in time.

It was almost dangerous but it was the only thing keeping the fear at bay and the panic attacks away. She physically could not feel a single thing, couldn't process a single thought. It was like she'd turned into a zombie while making the journey from Finnick's apartment to hers in the early hours of that morning. It didn't help that they'd barely gotten any sleep either—too desperate to feel and be with one another on what might've been their first and last night together.

So when Aella had left him and those elevator doors had closed behind her she turned it all off. She left her heart with him and she wouldn't reunite with it again until she was in the arena fighting alongside him. Until then the autopilot she was working on would see her through. Her survival instincts would take over and she would fight. It wouldn't be pretty but it was necessary for her to survive this.

To her, it was almost like Palex was invisible as they travelled to the arena. The Tribute Centre was a ghost town as they moved through at their designated time. They were the only two to board the hovercraft to the arena. She presented her arm for her tracker and it was inserted without her even flinching. They flew the entire journey in silence and when they landed they were ushered underground as quickly as she was forced on to the train after the reaping.

Palex's hands sweated as they walked through the catacombs to Aella's launch pad. It didn't once cross his mind that he was walking underneath the arena. They were guarded by four Peacekeepers, two stationed behind them and two in front of them and their presence unnerved him deeply. He'd never been one who was calm and collected, not like the usual blasè Capitol stylists. He took his work seriously and dreamed about standing out from those around him but he was easily threatened by the men in the white uniforms who worked for his unworthy President.

He had abided by the rules...but she hadn't.

They were guided into her launch pad and they walked in silently. The four Peacekeepers stationed themselves on the outside of the closed door. Their guns were loaded and ready to fire should she try to escape in a final bid for freedom. Aella stood still in the small launch pad while Palex looked around curiously. It was almost identical to the same small, circular, room he stood in six years ago to see her off. The size was the same, the grey panelled walls were the same but what wasn't the same was the girl he stood with.

Six years ago he said goodbye to her and walked out thinking she would be dead before he even made it back to the hovercraft. The innocent Golden Girl he dressed had died but Aella had dug her feet into the ground and refused to go. He hoped that she was going to do the same now...even if there was so much at stake.

"Aella." Palex called her name gently. He didn't expect her to acknowledge him never mind to turn to him and he swallowed deeply as he walked over to her. He admired the suit she wore, the very one he'd inspected that morning when it was dropped off for her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and felt the stretch of the fabric beneath his fingers. Like he had done six years ago, he gave her his predictions.

"It's light, breathable. No trace of thermal." He observed, "My guess would be tropics or desert."

She rolled her eyes as he mentioned a desert. She didn't have it in her to tell him Haymitch had already warned her of that a few nights prior.

Palex's mind ran back to when he got his first glimpse of the arena six years ago after seeing her off. The white sand had surrounded her for miles, the Cornucopia in the midst of abandoned and decrepit buildings that appeared like they'd been deserted for years. It had been the largest ever arena.

He tried not to think of what she was about to walk into and instead looked at her natural curls as they hung over her shoulders. They fell long down her body, to the bottom of her ribs, and he pressed his lips together in disdain, "You should've let me do something with your hair."

She shook her head and though her face was blank there was a hint of amusement in her tone, "I'd end up bald."

A smile chipped his lips, "It's better than the knotted mess it's about to become."

She shrugged nonchalantly, "All the more reason to cut it when I get out."

The thought of her emerging as Victor made his heart beat a little faster. He'd wagered everything he had on her being the one to win. He didn't doubt her for a second.

"Sixty seconds to launch."

The voice forced a wave of nausea to wipe over him. He pressed his lips together while glancing to the floor. The countdown loomed over their shoulders, a horrible reminder of what was to come.

Aella's stomach twisted in an unnatural way but she didn't let the feeling overwhelm her. She forced herself to ignore it and swallowed the lump in her throat as best as she could. Just sixty seconds left before her life flipped entirely on its head again. She couldn't even begin to think of what she'd be forced to endure.

Sixty seconds until the Games started. Sixty seconds until the revolution began. Sixty seconds until she could kill Drew. Sixty seconds until she saw him.

She took a deep breath and found Palex's hands, curling her fingers into them. For the first time that day her lips curved into a sincere smile. This was it, the last goodbye she had to make and the tears that welled in Palex's eyes made it harder than ever for her. She knew if she saw it through the Games and all went to plan Clio and Daniel would be waiting for her in District Thirteen. She didn't know if she'd ever see Palex, Cayenne and Flax again and that didn't sit right with her.

"Thank you," She said to him sincerely, "For everything you have ever done for me, Palex. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Palex shook his head as his words failed him. He swallowed deeply and said, "I should be the one saying the thanks here. You've been my muse for six years, Aella. I'd be nothing without you."

She squeezed his hands genuinely before pulling him into a brief embrace. They stood for some few seconds, remembering everything about one another before they pulled away and she said, "That dress was truly beautiful. Thank you for designing it for me."

"Thank you for trusting me to wear it." He responded.

"Ten seconds to launch."

She dropped his hands regrettably and stepped up on to the launch pad. They never once broke eye contact as she stood there and the circular glass case closed around her. Her heart clenched in her chest as the air tightened in the small chamber. She felt seconds away from losing it all and her fingers twitched by her side, desperate to come together and crack one another. Her heart began to quicken in pace, the drum of it pounding against her ribcage in an unsettling way. Each breath felt harder than the last but she fought to keep herself calm.

She forced herself to think about everything that had led her here. She went right back to the start, six years ago when her name was pulled from that bowl on that cloudy and dull morning. Her mind worked through every memory—every wrong that had been conducted against her until her body shook from anger. She kept going until she could not feel anything else and Palex saw the way her soft and loving eyes twisted into an icy glare. The unfamiliar expression he saw on her face that resembled that of a murderous gleam forced him to gulp and he took a step back as her pod launched.

She disappeared upward and he was gone forever. Her eyes fluttered to a close and she forced herself to rely on her senses. She tuned her body in a way that only Victors of the Hunger Games could. She turned on the hunter inside of her, the murderer... The Goddess of War rising from the ashes.

Natural light swept over her, a hot beam pounded down on her body and a gentle breeze blew warm air around her. Her long tresses swayed in the wind as the sound of soft waves crashing lightly echoed through her ears. She could smell the salt of sea water and hear the chirping of foreign birds somewhere in the distance and she never once opened her eyes. Instead, she listened to everything her senses told her. She put all her trust into them, learning how to use them all over again. The old skill came back rather quickly and only when she knew she was ready she opened her eyes.

Palex was right. She was surrounded by tropics for miles. She was thankful was wasn't a sandy desert and desolate buildings that stretched for miles she stared at but the dense jungle that encased the small circular beach made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. The covered space left everything to the imagination. She anticipated the Games to last for days, perhaps even weeks just by looking around. There were a million and one places to hide within the thick and heavy leaves that coated the trees.

She looked down and found herself standing on a smooth boulder erected into the deep sea beneath her. The twenty four identical boulders circled around the Cornucopia—only a body of water standing between it and her. The Cornucopia itself looked lethal, sat on a small island of jagged rocks that no doubt would turn slippery the second they all landed on them, wet from the swim over. Like a clock, twelve narrow pathways stretched out from the island and Aella sized it up, figured out how long the swim would be to that pathway.

The arena felt so small but the dense jungle overhead looked like it stretched for miles.

She fixed her gaze on the Cornucopia—on the jagged design of it and did not look away. Around her the tributes looked left and right, sizing up who they were positioned next to but she didn't. Some looked for allies, some looked for who they would take down first. It wasn't her priority, she didn't want to know. All that mattered to her was the machete and set of hunting knives she'd spied lying on one of the three tables within the Cornucopia itself.

She was too focused on her survival she didn't even realise she was standing on the launch pad to the right of Peeta Mellark and unknowingly she made her first mistake then and there. She didn't realise she'd come to regret not looking in the next coming minutes.

In their apartment, Clio and Daniel screamed at the television in frustration. They begged her to look to her right. Her ears even burnt as they shouted and screamed at her but her eyes were set on those knives and her priority immediately after that which was finding Drew Lopez and dragging him to Death herself for his crimes.

Screw the rebellion—Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark had enough skill to survive without her for five minutes. She deserved this. Her fingers itched for it. Every passing second standing on her launch pad and not being able to move was agitating her. She could taste his death, feel his blood on her hands and it felt good. The relief knowing he would be dead felt good.

A twisted smile curved over her lips so terrifying Peeta Mellark felt physically sick. Anyone who looked at her in that moment knew she was out for blood.

"Let the seventy-fifth Hunger Games begin." Claudius Templesmith announced. His monotone voice boomed through the many speakers hidden within the depths of the arena, "May the odds be ever in your favour."

Aella took a deep breath through her nose and she held it before exhaling.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

The countdown flashed above the Cornucopia as Claudius spoke. He counted them down to their death and they all waited in anticipation for him to reach one. The twenty-four Tributes were shown individually on the screen for all of Panem to see—the last time they'd see all twenty-four of them alive.

"Six...five...four..."

Aella positioned her right foot backward and put all her weight into it. She prepared herself to dive forward, body ready to meet the water.

"Three...two...one."

The cannon fired for the first time. The sound enticed an abundance of memories to explode within her mind. They all came rushing back at an unprecedented speed but before she could truly remember the cold splash of water that engulfed her body pushed her into a new reality.

She held her breath as her heart pounded in her chest. Her arms and her legs worked ferociously as she swam toward the rocky surface, never once breaking the water until she arrived at the pathway leading to the Cornucopia. She was quick to pull herself up and water splashed across the rocks from her body and soaked the ground underneath her.

As soon as her feet were planted firmly on the rocky surface underneath her she broke out into an almighty sprint up the pathway leading to the Cornucopia. Her hair whipped behind her, wet waves swaying down her back as the front wisps stuck to her face.

The heat of the arena crept up on her quickly and instead of drying the water on her body the intense sun forced sweat to take its place. It glistened on her forehead by the time she reached the Cornucopia in record speed.

She was the first person there and she quickly scoured out her choices while her fingers worked to clasp the holster around her waist and slot the throwing knives in. She equipped the machete in the hostler behind her back, the handle protruding upward while she clutched to two spare knives. She searched for packs but found nothing. There was no trace of them anywhere, no first aid kit, no rope, no food and no fresh water.

A grimace formed on her face as she realised what it meant for them all. At least when she was trapped in a desert last time they provided her with food and fresh water. This time there was nothing. She knew that in the extreme heat without fresh water fighting for survival would mean absolutely nothing. They'd all die of dehydration within the next four days.

Movement out the corner of her eye pulled her focus back to the present as she realised she wasn't alone. Other tributes were arriving and it was time to play the game. She was still unsure of what to do when it came to her rebellion allies and part of her hoped that it wasn't one of them approaching her. She moved swiftly under the caged roof of the Cornucopia and poked her head around the corner.

The male from District Ten who's name she never learned was running toward her, toward the Cornucopia, and without a second thought she drew her arm back and threw the knife in her left hand at him. It soared through the air with such speed and precision he didn't have a second to react as it found its home in his chest.

The first cannon of death echoed throughout the arena—confirming her kill—as he fell backwards and landed on the ground. Aella walked over and pulled her knife out from his chest, gripping it as she walked around the back of the Cornucopia. She searched for her prey and found him still running toward the Cornucopia, not far from reaching it. Around her, the other Tributes were just to arriving and the bloodbath commenced.

She didn't stick around. She ran from them, leaving them all to their fight for the best weapons. Her eyes focused on the man who had dragged her to Hell and left her there to rot.

When Drew's eyes fell on Aella's armed frame they widened. He froze and all of Panem sat at the edge of their seats as the cameras pulled away from the bloodbath and focused on the young black haired woman charging toward Drew with ferocity.

Cannons echoed left and right but she didn't turn to see who had fallen. She knew Finnick would be fine, knew Johanna could hold her own. She just had to take care of a personal vendetta before she could do anything else.

Drew shifted to the right seeing her run toward him—his attempt at a quick getaway by trying to dive back into the water—but Aella predicted his movement. One of her knives was already soaring toward him before he could even make the second step and it lodged deeply into the calf he stood on. His knee buckled and smashed against the ground, his groan of pain echoing over the sound of screaming and death cannons and water.

He fumbled for the handle of the knife and pulled it out with a deep, pained, groan. Blood spilled from the small wound and he seethed before he stole a glance sideways to her approaching figure. He swore loudly when he saw her right before him, soaring through the air toward him, and before he knew it she had tackled him to the ground. 

Their bodies fell against the harsh surface and they rolled from the sheer force of her attack. Her back hit against the ground with force and knocked all the air out from deep within her lungs but she recovered quickly. She was up on her feet before he even had the chance to move an inch and she pinned him to the ground underneath her. Her left foot pinned his left arm while her hand pinned his other above his head. He struggled underneath her, tried to thrash her off with his free legs but the second he allowed himself to meet her wild gaze she drove her knife into the side of his abdomen and watched as he grimaced in pain.

His groan morphed into a pained scream and she captured the attention of those fighting through the bloodbath.

From the sand having swam to the Cornucopia briefly to make a quick stop to grab her ax before running back to where Blight, Wiress and Beetee were waiting, Johanna stopped and watched. Time in the arena stopped for a moment, the fighting ceased and the cannons stopped but Aella didn't even notice. They were all frozen as they watched her. Finnick even held his breath in trepidation, trident still lodged deeply in the chest of the male from District Nine pinned underneath him.

Aella's icy cobalt glare stared straight through Drew's soul and held him captive. He couldn't look away, couldn't close his eyes no matter how hard he wanted to. He couldn't escape her pain, her wrath.

She pushed her blade further in, the feel of his warm blood seeping on to her palm as she dragged the knife upward with force. He screamed and withered underneath her but she was deaf to it. She didn't stop until the knife clipped the bottom of his rib and only then did she pull it out. The man underneath her sobbed, teeth gritted together, as she delivered him his just desert.

She had spent years lying awake at night dreaming about every way she could kill him. She'd planned what she would say to him as she watched the light slowly leave his eyes. In the seven days since they'd both been reaped she'd imagined which non-fatal parts of his body she'd attack to prolong his death. She wanted to see him suffer but as she pinned him down underneath her and had him at her mercy her mind was blank.

She barely waited five seconds before she stabbed into his upper arm, right where his radial nerve sat. She felt his arm go limp underneath her shoe and she repeated her action on the other arm. A satisfying feeling crept up on her as she watched him struggle to move his fingers with the loss of his radial nerves. She knew exactly where to make it hurt, where to strike. She knew how to kill slowly and how to kill instantly and she put all her knowledge to use.

He wailed underneath her and tried to throw her off with his body but she didn't move. Her eyes narrowed on him, brows knitting together as he begged her to stop. It forced her to halt in her movements and she really looked at him. She saw the pain in his eyes as he opened them and looked at her pleadingly through tears. The audacity that he had to beg her to stop was almost too much.

She leaned closer, her back hunched over him. Her hot breath fanned over his face and made him flinch as he looked at her, "I'm sorry." He tried to say, "I'm so sorry. I take it all back. P-please just stop."

She carved her knife into his thigh in response and listened as he yelled out in pain.

"Stop?" She echoed after his screaming ceased. Her voice was venomously cold. She edged back slightly, appalled by his words and she shook her head, "You want me to stop?"

He nodded his head desperately, bleeding out slowly from the four wounds she'd created.

"Did you ever stop when I asked you to?" Her voice was a whisper. The arena around them was silent. Panem was silent as they listened to her words. The vulnerability in her tone was gut wrenching as she searched his eyes and said, "When I sobbed and begged for you to stop but you put your hand over my mouth and carried on? Why should I show you mercy when you couldn't do the same for me? Give me an honest answer and maybe I'll contemplate stabbing you in the heart and killing you now instead of slicing into your carotid and watching you bleed out."

He stuttered over his breath as he beheld the promise on her tongue. He was actually going to die. She was actually going to kill him after he'd managed to evade her all those years. All that taunting, trying to get her to slip up in front of Peacekeepers had amounted to nothing. All those attempts at trying to undermine her, trying to manipulate her into thinking she wasn't strong enough to kill him had failed. He had ultimately failed and now she was going to die slowly and painfully.

The seconds passed as they held each others gaze. He tried to think of something to say—anything but then realised he'd rather her spit on him than him give her an honest answer.

The best part was Aella knew he didn't have an answer for her. He didn't stop because he didn't want to, it was as simple as that. He didn't have the balls to say it and so when she raised her knife to his throat he shouted out loudly to deter her.

"Stop-stop-stop! Wait. I-I don't have an answer, okay?" He said quickly, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head in disgust, "You're not sorry for what you did, Drew." She said to him, "You're sorry you got caught. You don't care about all those other girls. You never expected any of them to win so you did it. You never expected me to win so you did it. You didn't ever think for a second that I would spill the secret you'd been keeping for years. That I would tell Panem what you did to us all."

He didn't say anything. He just shook his head underneath her knife.

"You're pathetic," She said to him, straightening her back as she looked down at him, "A piece of shit. You deserve to rot in hell."

"And what does that make you?" He spat, eyes turning vicious as she insulted him, "You were so easy. They were all so easy... hell, some of them even smiled when I walked into their rooms, you know?"

"Because they thought you were there for help." She seethed venomously.

He grinned maliciously, blood coating his teeth, "You might've told the world I did Aella but at the end of the day I won. You and I both know it. A year in the Capitol on house arrest. They only convicted me because they knew it'd cause an uproar if I didn't receive some punishment so they gave me the lightest punishment of them all. They may as well of spat on you."

In total rage, Aella drove her knife into his crotch before she rose to her feet. She watched him wither on the ground as he yowled in pain and she spat on him. His screaming pierced her ears but all she could think about was how much he deserved it. His pain was nothing compared to what she felt—compared to what she'd had to endure.

It consumed her blindly and made her continue until her hands were soaked in his blood and her fingers were trembling. Drew was nothing but a carved out mess on the ground underneath her. His slow pants and hollow breaths informed her he was almost dead. His eyes glazed over as he bled out slowly and only then was she satisfied. She felt the presence of Death looming over her shoulder. She waited for him with Her scythe to deliver him straight to the gates of Hell.

Aella stood for a final time and she rolled her shoulders out. She returned the knife back to the hostler as Drew's blood dripped off her fingers and scattered across the ground beneath her feet. Her eyes never left his, not as he bled out in front of her. She wanted to be the last thing he saw before he died and she placed her foot on his bleeding chest to force his attention back to her. His hazy gaze fixated upon her and he saw Death looming over one shoulder and a Goddess at her other, both waiting for him.

The sky grew brighter around them and just like she had wished, Drew Lopez bled out slowly at her hand and he took his dying breath while staring into her eyes.

The booming cannon echoed throughout the arena but the feeling that swept over Panem was raw. It sent shivers down the spines of the residents who watched on. The people of District Five, Clio, Daniel, Sal, Natalia, Sam... they all released a deep breath of relief. A wave of emotion swept over them as Aella dropped her head back to the sky and exhaled shakily with her eyes closed.

Finally, the door closed in her mind and it sealed itself shut. Drew Lopez could no longer hurt her. He was gone forever.

Aella took a moment for herself. She pulled herself back together and regained her composure as the red disappeared from around her eyes. The anger and the rage began to dissipate and in its wake, a single tear ran down her cheek. She didn't wipe it away. She let it roll until it dropped off her chin and fell on to Drew's now dead body underneath her.

For the first time that day she allowed herself to feel and she settled back into herself. She remembered what she had to do, what was at stake. She remembered her place and her promise. Finnick flashed in her mind and she turned around to search for him. Only when she reached him could she reunite with her heart and truly process what she had just done.

She found him still at the Cornucopia but the pack of Careers between she and him were a massive problem. His brows creased as he looked at the backs of the Career pack while they stalked toward Aella like a piece of meat. The need to chase them and take them down to protect her overpowered him as. He could do nothing but watch Cashmere and Brutus sprint down the rocky surface to her.

Aella swallowed deeply as the Career pack honed in on her at an impressive speed. It was a four against one and they all carried sharp enough weapons that they aimed at her. They separated her from Finnick and with pained eyes she glanced at him fleetingly. He knew her well enough to be able to read her expression. She apologised to him silently and simultaneously promised to see him again before she fixed her attention on the Careers and threw a knife in their direction before she turned and ran.

She nicked Gloss' arm with her blade in an attempt to distract them before she turned and ran down the pathway. She dove into the water once more, her arms and legs pushed her towards the shore, separating her from Finnick and forcing her to ride this out alone. The Careers singled her out and followed her through the water, stalking her like prey and all Finnick could do was stand and watch as she ran up the sandy beach and disappeared into the thick jungle without so much as a glance back with four Careers on her tail.

She had done it once before—survived against Careers on her own. She could do it again.

Finnick watched her the entire time. It was almost like deja vu except he wasn't sitting on the edge of his seat watching a screen in the Capitol. He was in the arena with her and he prayed that she made it through the night and back to the beach to reunite with them.

He didn't doubt her skill, not for a damn minute. He just worried about whatever pods the Gamemakers were going to throw her way knowing she was alone and completely vulnerable. That perfect score of twelve sung to him in mocking.

He felt his heart clench in his chest—unease seizing him. The Careers disappeared into the jungle after her but not before Brutus lingered at the tree line, turning back to the Cornucopia and finding Finnick's frozen frame. He grinned maliciously at him as if he knew—knew just how much Aella Barnes truly meant to him and he was going to kill her.

Everything inside him roared in such fierce anger. He damned everything to hell, even Katniss Everdeen as she stood beside him with Peeta Mellark and Mags. He knew he had to get them on the opposite side of the arena if he stood any chance at getting them out alive but he couldn't just leave her—

He strained under the leash he kept himself on. He wanted to rage. He wanted to chase those Careers and tear them into pieces. He almost gave it all up right then and there for her and he would've if weren't of been for the promise she'd made him make that morning.

Her lips brushed across his pectoral, warm and soft and he ran his fingers through her soft waves. His room smelt of her—jasmine and lavender—and he savoured the sight of her naked shoulders, the feel of her against his body.

"Finnick."

He hummed in response, an arm braced behind his head as he used it to prop his head up. She turned her face to look at him, resting her chin against his chest and he could do nothing but smile at her, at the feeling of completion he felt.

His calloused hand cupped her cheek and she turned her face into it, pressing a smooth kiss into his palm while keeping her eyes on him. His fingers tangled into the front of her hair when she frowned, "What are you smiling at?"

"You." He replied simply, "How beautiful you are. How you're here, in my bed, and we're finally doing this after years. How lucky of a man I am."

Under the moonlight pouring in through his open curtains he barely saw the red blush of her cheeks. She glanced away bashfully before she rose on her knees and crawled up to him before settling back down against his chest. She was so much closer now, he could feel her breath on his face. Only mere inches separated them as her eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, "Finnick," she said his name again and it gave him butterflies, "I need you to promise me something."

He brushed the back of his finger across her cheekbone, "Anything."

"Tomorrow, in that arena, we have to keep being the Finnick and Aella everyone thinks we are. Best friends. Nothing more, nothing else." She said and he saw the pain that flashed through her eyes as she said it, "Snow can't know."

He nodded in agreement, "Snow can't know."

"It doesn't matter how much trouble I may get in to, or if we get separated at any point, you can't chase after me. You can't drag Katniss and Peeta into danger for me—"

"Ella—"

She shook her head softly, "You can't," she said, brushing her hand across his chest.

"You can't ask me to stand by and watch you die, Ella," he shook his head, "I won't do that."

"No, I'm not." She said softly, fingers rising and grazing across the column of his throat, "I just—" A heavy sigh, "We need to stay focused in there. The rebellion is our priority. Getting Katniss and Peeta out is our priority and when we're in District Thirteen we can be us and you can chase me all you want, okay."

"You promise?"

She met his sparkling gaze and nodded once, "I promise."

Her words lingered on his lips like the kiss they had shared afterward. You can't chase after me... she had made him promise her that and he had done so blindly thinking he wouldn't ever have to think of it because he hadn't planned of letting her leave his sight.

She was gone and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

He pulled his trident out of the body still underneath his feet and in sheer anger he thrust it back in again, shouting in rage.

She was gone....

•   •   •

A/N; I love Finnick and Aella so fucking much it actually hurts sometimes. Their relationship is just so beautiful, I can't wait for you guys to read more of it.