I'M SURPRISED, THOUGH I suppose I shouldn't be, to see Finnick Odair in the flesh, standing around like a normal person. Not to mention, fully-clothed.

Finnick's something of a sex symbol in Panem; regarded as the epitome of male beauty. The girls back home always flock to the nearest screen whenever he's on the air. He's one of the most recognized faces of the country due to his publicly broadcast private life-easily as famous as Snow himself.

"Well, well, well," says the sea god. "This must be our little star." He steps towards me, holding out a hand. "Akira, am I right?"

I nod, blinking away my shock. "Yes."

Liam offers his hand to Marin. "Marin. I'm Liam."

Finnick takes my hand and clasps it between his. His next question catches me off guard.

"Tell me, Akira, can you act?"

I pause, unsure of how to answer. I decide that honesty is the best course.

"I can lie," I say straightforwardly.

The corner of Finnick's mouth lifts, revealing perfect, white teeth.

"That's good," he says quietly, releasing my hand. "You'll need that. But acting requires some truth to it." He looks to Liam. "Especially an act sustained for the duration of the Games."

Liam nods. "I'm working with her."

Finnick smiles. "Good."

I stare at the ground. The Victor from Four is every bit as attractive as the cameras make him out to be, but very strange-acting.

"Akira, Marin, you two have met. Yes?"

I glance up at Marin for the first time. He's wearing a collared shirt the same color as his eyes.

"Yes, we have," I say evenly.

"Well," Finnick purrs, putting his hands together. "Why don't you two get acquainted while the adults talk?" He gives Marin a pointed look. "I hear your earlier meeting wasn't exactly the...material of romances."

With that, he and Liam head off in the opposite direction.

I watch them leave, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Marin.

"Finally," Marin says once the adults are out of earshot. He reaches up and unfastens the first two buttons of his shirt, tugging at the collar. He catches me watching and gives me a somewhat sheepish look.

"These Capitol clothes are too constricting," he explains.

I cross my arms, balancing my weight on one hip. "Well, what do you wear in Four?"

Marin tugs at the collar, then unfastens one last button.

"A lot less than they wear here."

An image of fishermen going about their daily activities wearing nothing but loincloths comes to mind.

Apparently, my expression betrays my thought process, because Marin laughs.

"Don't worry," he says. "We wear clothes. We just don't generally wear shirts during the daytime. Too hot and humid."

"Well, that would explain the tan," I say lamely.

Marin shrugs and unbuttons the cuffs of his sleeves before rolling them up. "The tan I was born with."

I walk over to the edge of the garden and look out over the city. It's beautiful really; all the dazzling lights and tall, regal buildings that reflect the final rays of sunshine. A prison with a view.

"Why did you agree to this?" I ask.

Marin comes up beside me, still struggling with his sleeves.

"Agree to what?"

I twist the filmy material of my dress through my fingers.

"Pretending to be lovers."

Marin finally gives up on his left sleeve.

"I thought that strategy would gain us the most sponsors." He turns to me. "The Gamemakers are more reluctant to kill off crowd favorites. Sometimes they even skew things in their favor."

I give a small nod. What Marin says is true. The entire purpose of the Games is to entertain the Capitol. The gamemakers often do whatever they think will draw the most attention from the crowd.

"What about you?"

Startled out of my thoughts, I glance up at Marin. Holding his gaze, I look into his light eyes and wonder how much I can trust him-how much either one of us can trust the other. The survival of one means the death of the other. How can any kind of friendship form from this?

"Honestly?" I say. "I don't want to die and I agreed to do whatever Liam told me."

Neither one of us mentions that no matter what we pretend, at least one of us will end up dead anyway.

That voice appears again, insistent and louder than before.

I don't want to die.