𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

𝟎𝟔. 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬'𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡

— 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐱 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

"Harlan?"

My lip quivered as I uttered his name. The sword in my hand clattered to the ground as I rushed to the boy's side, cradling his head in my arms as I lifted him onto my lap. My fingers grazed the shaft of the spear as if I were actually considering removing the weapon myself. Only I knew it wouldn't help. It was difficult to hear as the blood rushed to my ears while flooding from my face.

"Hold on," I whispered while his eyes lazily blinked.

"Juneaux?" He repeated my name, weaker than before.

"Hold on," I gently insisted, "We can fix this. I have to fix this."

He took my hand, pulling me into the present moment. Tears slowly rolled down the sides of his face, matting his hair while forming a small puddle on the ground.

"I'm sorry..."

My heart wrenched as one moment it was Harlan lying on the stone ground, and the next it was a different little blond boy dying in the forest. Those same words had been uttered then, and once again the boy before me had nothing to apologize for.

"You'll be alright," I said, trying to convince myself that I hadn't made such a drastic mistake. That I hadn't missed all the signs and that he just needed to rest. It would all be okay in the morning... only it wouldn't.

He managed a weak smile before his chest heaved. He coughed, driving the spear deeper if possible while blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, staining my white undershirt.

"I feel so cold," he chuckled, but then grimaced as the action pained him. "It's over a hundred degrees outside and I'm cold again."

I untied my lighter jacket from around my waist, wrapping it over the boy's shoulders while I held him close. "Please don't go... I need you."

"Hey..." He weakly lifted his hand and allowed it to hover over my heart for a moment before dropping it back down onto his own chest. "I'll always be with you."

I'm certain the cannon echoed, but I couldn't hear it over my own anguished cries while I cradled his lifeless form in my arms.

I could see little moments as they flashed before my eyes. Those twisted moments that had almost become the best in my life solely because he was in them. And now he was gone, yet the torment remained.

"Why?" I whispered, my hands beginning to tremble yet the action remained hidden while my back was turned to the two remaining tributes. I gently lowered Harlan to the ground, then whipped my head around to face Rex with the burning flares of the sun reflected in my eyes. "Why—How? How could you do this?!"

"I told you to choose." His voice was cold and distant, refusing to meet my gaze for a flicker of a second as if almost regretting his decision.

"You knew my choice!" I screamed at him. "You knew my choice from the beginning!"

He slowly nodded his head. "Yes. I knew you planned to do whatever it took to protect Harlan. But that meant tainting your flawless image. I've protected you by doing what you couldn't. I've rescued you from your blind spot."