The 'Flower of Panem' or 'The Angel of Mercy', Seraphine Reza is the jewel and pride of Panem. One of their most treasured victors in the history of the Hunger Games and a favorite of President Snow.
While she smiles, comforts and plays her part ev...
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"Seraphine Reza." Creon repeated her name.
His pitiful voice was accompanied by a storm of whispers, commenting on how pitiful she was but among the whispers, she could hear the shrill cries of her only sister and protests from her brother who was tackled to the ground by a few Peacekeepers.
"NO! NO! PLEASE, NOT HER AGAIN!" Her brother was taken to the side, away from the cameras. "PLEASE! PL-PLEASE NOT SERAPHINE!"
But his screams and cries could still be heard even when he'd been taken aside. His artificial limb fell into his hands as the Peacekeepers shoved him to the side. His cries turned silent but tears still fell from his face like a waterfall that she couldn't look at.
She did expect laughter too, accompanying the crying but there was none. None from Ira's sisters or her friends. None from Eugene's brother, Maxim.
Tears were streaming down Maxim's red face. He looked so much like Eugene that it terrified Sera. His tears made her recall Eugene's attempts to strangle her in her sleep. He was crying back then just like his younger brother.
But Maxim wasn't crying because he'd decided to kill his only partner for the games. He'd never been inside the arena, spared due to Zephyr's generosity. A gesture that he'd spend his entire life repaying.
Maxim covered his mouth with his hand and turned away from her. He was crying like the Capitol had just returned Eugene as a corpse. He was crying like he was watching his brother die for the second time.
Crying not laughing.
Sera sucked in a breath and plastered a sickly sweet smile on her face as if she was so damned honored for the opportunity to die for the entertainment of millions.
Her tired silver eyes scanned the crowd. Her focus was on her family. She was etching their faces in her mind.
She tried to remember her home, where she'd grown up.
The concrete stacked cube she'd once called home with faded painted walls. The rusty metal stairs with the handle were covered in scrap fabric of old clothes and bedsheets. Broken glass windows that were barely covered by the moth-eaten curtains. She tried to remember the last time she went home.
She tried to remember the lake where her family picnicked, the grass, the pebbled path, and the tall trees covering the path like curtains. She tried to picture it in her head as she took slow steps forward.
She tried to remember the vast sunflower fields she'd see on the way to school when she was still healthy. The tall yellow flowers faced the sun, worshiping it while solar panels hid in between.
The mountains that painted the skies of Five. The rivers that ran through Five, even if they were tainted, were still the prettiest thing anyone would see with flowers and weeds growing at the banks.
The Slog. The Hollow. The Lux. The Justice Building and Foxhalo. She tried to etch every piece of District 5 into her brain for the last time. There was no way she was coming home after this. She knew her odds were not high.
