𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

𝟎𝟖. 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤

— 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

I lost count of how many times the cannon echoed once the battle began. The tides were in our favor as we had the weapons and skills to finish the job. We failed to anticipate that these tributes feared death more than the blood tainting our swords.

The ground was stained with blood far quicker than anticipated—whether it was my allies or opponents, I couldn't be sure. It was like the bloodbath at the cornucopia had been repeated on the side of the northern mountain where we were outnumbered six to four. Yet the odds were still in our favor.

Halo and Lux had taken the three injured while Rena called me over to where she had the goddess and her pair of cherubs cornered. The ginger had spirit, that much I couldn't deny as she refused to cower before us while using herself as a shield for the other two.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment," Rena sneered.

"From the sound of it I've consumed your every waking moment." Juneaux scoffed. "I'm proud to admit I haven't thought of you once over these last five weeks."

Rena shrieked and lunged. I only stood and watched knowing I'd never hear the end of it if I stole her kill. Only Juneaux wasn't as meek or timid as Rena liked to believe. The ginger girl dodged the knife, which jabbed the space behind her, then grabbed Rena's arm and twisted it so that she might drop the knife. Rena cried out in pain, releasing the knife before grabbing it with her free hand.

Juneaux was quick and light on her feet, but her movement was not as controlled as it needed to be to successfully evade each swipe. Rena managed to clip her calf with the blade. It wasn't a fatal cut like she'd desired, but it was enough to create a distraction of pain.

Harlan grabbed Honey by the hand, using Juneaux's distraction to their advantage to flee to safety. I could have intercepted their path and eliminated two more tributes with a single swing, but they were kids. I could go back for them later if necessary. Right now my focus was on the fight between Rena and Juneaux. My strength would be preserved for whichever one stepped away victorious. We were in the final stage of the games. There was a reason the gamemakers had forced us all together, and I highly doubted that they would let this madness continue after five weeks of mundane winter.

I didn't completely lose track of the kids, they remained on the outskirts of the battle. Likely watching to see if their beloved queen would escape.

"Romulus," Rena called more my attention as she tossed her knife to my hand while pinning Juneaux in place. "Don't just stand there like a melting ice sculpture."

I caught the blade then inched forward, realizing that Rena was forcing me to make the killing blow. She was still taunting me with this delusion that I'd formed some kind of attachment of infatuation to the girl before me. My eyes hardened as I neared, proving that Rena's mind games would not deter me from my goal of being crowned the victor. I lunged, but Juneaux wildly kicked up off the ground and knocked the blade from my hand with her foot before reeling back to kick me in the gut while she knocked her skull against Rena's face.

Rena dropped the girl, clutching her now bleeding and broken nose with a cry of outrage. I gasped for breath to return to my lungs and Juneaux swayed up from the ground, reaching for the fallen knife.

The cannon echoed twice.

My fingers curled tighter around my sword which I'd abandoned, then my back straightened as I prepared to make a second attack. I twirled the sword in my right hand, lifting it above my head to strike the girl down just as she retrieved the knife. However, something hard was whacked against the backside of my head.

I staggered. Then fell.

My vision blurred, jumping between consciousness and darkness as a large rock was dropped beside my head. My body felt numb as if I were temporarily paralyzed while my mind tried to recalibrate from the blow. I could only watch as the tall blond from district ten stepped over my body and rushed to Juneaux's side. He was bruised and his side was soaked red as if narrowly escaping death, yet he easily overpowered Rena using the axe at his side to ward her away.

Juneaux's face lit up with elation; however, the ringing in my ears prevented me from hearing whatever she said next. Putting their pleasantries and apparent reunion on hold, Juneaux and Rex faced Rena with a fresh sense of determination.

Uncertainty flashed across Rena's face for a split second as it looked like the tides of battle had shifted once again. Juneaux clumsily extended the knife in her hand while Rex played with the weight of his axe, waiting for Rena to make the first move.

Which is when Lux stepped to her side. Rena's eyes lit up with a twisted delight as she likely called the boy from district one to join her in battle. However, Lux gestured up toward the top of the mountain while pulling on her arm to drag her away. I could see the panic overwhelm each of their forms as a light mist of snow began to cover the trail of blood scattered across the battlefield.

Rex and Juneaux didn't hesitate to take advantage of the distraction, running toward the cover where I remember the kids hiding previously. Lux glanced over at my dazed form, almost contemplating the decision to help; however, he turned and ran calling for Rena to follow as the ringing in my ears ceased long enough to register the rumble of the earth below me.

Rena's hesitation was different. She called out to Lux with something along the lines saying she'd catch up. Then she slinked over to my helpless state. She grinned—revealing the fangs that she'd filed her teeth into over the course of the last week in honor of her mantra—and her eyes said everything her whisper excluded.

"I told you to watch your back."

I shuddered at the touch of the cold steel severing the flesh of my chest. An inch to the right and she would have killed me instantly. No, she wanted me to bleed out. She wanted me to experience as much pain before the darkness claimed me... or the oncoming avalanche swallowed me whole.

She ripped the dagger free of my living corpse then sprinted in the direction that I'd seen Lux flee. It felt like I'd spent an eternity staring at the sky. And just when I regained the ability to move, the mountainside came crashing down and swept me into the darkness.