¹ THRONE ─ the hunger games

[ 022 ] this kerosene's live

WHEN THEY GOT BACK TO THE CAVE, Elias refused to engage with them. Minutes after they'd cleared out of the area and made it back to the river, carefully avoiding the traps within the forest, a hovercraft had been sent for Lila's body.

When they heard the quiet roar of the hovercraft overhead, they celebrated. Iko even let Titus pull her into a one-armed hug before he moved onto dogging after Elias about his first kill like a proud parent, even though Elias was clearly not in the mood. Even when Titus tried to congratulate him, albeit sarcastically and with cruel intention, Elias acted as though they didn't exist. He'd always been quiet, always sat apart from them. Now, though, he'd withdrawn so far into himself they couldn't reach him, and they didn't try. Iko had shrugged off Elias' antisocial behaviour early on. As long as he didn't do anything out of turn, it wasn't her problem. The arena demanded blood, and they had paid their respects.

Iko's only regret was that she wasn't able to kill Elias' district partner herself.

In the morning, Iko woke to the sound of Titus shuffling around the cave, shaking them awake. The swelling in Opal's leg had gone down considerably, and she was walking almost normally now. Running was a whole other story, but their mission today was just to check the traps they'd set the evening prior.

Since they'd set up traps in the forested hills on either side of the river, Alex decided it was more effective to split the hunting party in half. Iko, Sage and Alex would comb one side of the valley, while Titus and Opal checked the traps on the other. As usual, they left Elias with the supplies—it wasn't much of a choice there, really, since he refused to speak with any of them, and had voluntarily sat down by the crates while Alex proposed today's program.

"This one's empty," Alex said, slightly disgruntled by the undisturbed snare. It was their third one already.

The sun bore down on them, pressing its hands into their shoulders and hurrying them up the hills.

"Maybe someone saw you guys setting up," Iko pointed out. "Plus, the other four tributes could be hiding anywhere else outside of the valley. This is just one part of the arena, remember?"

"Maybe you should make more traps and set them up anywhere else outside of the valley, then," Sage snapped, slanting Iko an incendiary glower. She'd been quiet all morning, even when they left, she hadn't tried to crack any jokes. Especially not to Iko, whom she'd been giving the cold shoulder the entire time. Iko hadn't thought it was a big deal, plus, she had an idea of where Sage's hostility was speaking from.

Iko sent Sage a flat look. "Don't be a child. You made a mistake last night. You could've gotten us killed. Don't act like I'm the one at fault here."

Alex sighed, but didn't intervene.

Sage's face flushed a furious red.

"Me? Be a child?" Sage sneered. A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes. "Take a look at yourself, Two. From day one you've been acting like everyone else is beneath you. You think you're better than me? You don't call the shots around here. You've proven nothing."

Iko flicked her an unimpressed look. "And you've just proven you don't think at all."

With a menacing snarl, Sage took an aggressive step towards Iko, towering over her like she was about to snap her like a twig. In a flash, Iko had a knife in her hand, poised to shred Sage's intestines to ribbons if she tried anything. She met Sage's nuclear glare with a cool glower. If Sage's pride was hurt from last night, when Iko took disciplinary action against a particularly stupid call on Sage's part, then Iko wouldn't be in the wrong to off her there and then, especially when she posed a threat to the Career pack.