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HER EYES DANCED AROUND THE FOREST, from tree to tree, green and brown swirling and mixing in her vision. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, adrenaline pumping through her veins; her hands shook in anticipation of something yet to come. She didn't know what she was waiting for, she just knew that she had to be ready.
Leaves crunched under a foot from behind her and Nadia's head snapped toward the sound with wide eyes, gripping her weapon. She relaxed when she saw it was only Finnick. His hands fell back down to his side from the position of surrender when he saw she had lowered her sword. He would never admit it, but his childhood friend frightened him when she had that animalistic look in her eyes, like she was a hungry wolf in front of a gazelle.
He took the place beside her, letting out a content sigh as silence engulfed them. Her gaze returned to the forest, searching, but she could see him looking at her from the corner of her eyes. She remained unbothered, but the quiet got to be too much for the blonde man, scared of getting caught up in his own thoughts. That's what his favorite thing about Nadia was. Her ability to make him forget his worries, insecurities, fears.
"You think Beetee's plan is going to work?" He inquired, pretending to not be staring when the Latina glanced his way.
She stifly nodded her head once. "It has to." She paused. "Otherwise we're fucked."
He hummed in agreement. Silence once again took over, but it was not in the least bit awkward. They felt comfortable in each other's presence, relaxed even.
His stare burned into her and set her on fire, and she met his gaze. But unlike last time, he did not look away. The way he looked at her made her breath quicken and she could feel him move closer to her.
This is too much. She thought to herself under his intense stare. She cleared her throat and turned forward again, hoping it would defuse the situation.
Finnick responded by grabbing her by the face and forcing her to look at him again; she couldn't meet his eyes. "Nadia." He called her name and she actually stopped breathing momentarily at the sincerity in his voice.
The Martell woman finally met his gaze and as soon as she did, his lips crashed into hers like ocean waves against a rocky shore. The way he moved against her screamed desperation. Do something. Kiss me back.
And she did.
Nadia let go. Let go of her pent up emotions she had buried. Let go of the fear of what President Snow is going to do to her when he sees this because she knows he's watching. She let go of trying to act like she didn't feel a damn thing because when it came to Finnick Odair, she felt everything. She let go of worrying about the future and focused on what was happening now.
She was kissing Finnick and Finnick was kissing her and she was feeling things and he was holding her and they were marveling in this moment, this moment of purity and rawness and they breathed it all in, inhaled each other like they were suffocating and the other was the oxygen they needed.
Nadia pulled away from his lips, those damned lips. Her breathing came out heavy and ragged, yet she smiled, eyes closed, still living in this moment where it was only them two. His hands cupped her face gently, like she was a ghost and could disappear at any second. He opened his eyes and watched her regain her breath before she followed his actions, looking back up at him.
He was about to go in for another kiss when their moment was cut short. A scream echoed all around them and they looked in every direction, trying to decipher where it came from.
The voice sounded familiar; Katniss. They shared a look before Finnick ran in the direction he believed it came from, and Nadia ran back to the tree, searching for Peeta and Beetee.
In the distance, she heard the District 4 Victor calling out for the two missing women. She finally found the lightening tree, but there was no sign of the other men.
"Beetee!" She yelled, head spinning from the adrenaline. "Peeta?" Footsteps caught her attention and she ran towards them, feeling as thought she was chasing the wind; there was no point.
She made her way back to the tree, where she saw Finnick on the opposite side of where she came from. A look of relief washed over his features when his eyes met hers, but his face dropped as soon as he saw Katniss, crouched in the bushes, arrow pointed straight at him.
His hands came up in surrender and Nadia didn't dare make any sound in fear it might spook the girl into letting her arrow fly, though there was no doubt that she already knew the Reaper was there. "Katniss." He pleaded, throat dry. She did not say anything and the Latina removed her sword from its sheath, preparing herself to use it. While she did not want to hurt the mockingjay- especially when she was carrying an unborn child inside of her- she would not let her kill Finnick.
"Remember who the real enemy is." He said, and the Martell woman's brows furrowed as Katniss lowered her bow. What did that mean? Did Finnick and Katniss have some sort of secret alliance?Was there something Nadia was missing?
Thunder rumbled from above them and they all looked up to see clouds rolling in; the lightening was about to strike very near where they currently stood. "Katniss." The blonde Victor warned, blue eyes gazing up at the lethal electricity that crackled above them. "Get away from there."
The bow weilding girl hurriedly wrapped the coil attached to the wire around the tree around the tip of her arrow, and Nadia immediately knew what she planned to do. Finnick ran toward the raven haired girl about to do something that could take her and her baby's life, and the Martell woman ran toward the man who had captured her heart. If he was going to die, then she was going to die with him.
Before either could get to her, Katniss released the arrow toward the top of the arena with a war cry, just as the lightening struck. The explosion pushed all three of them backwards, the light blinding Nadia. The static surrounding them made the hairs on the back of their necks stand up.
There was a slight ringing in her ears and she slowly opened her eyes, though her vision was blurry, making her unable to see very well. Her body ached from the impact, but she pushed her upper half off the ground, incapable of standing just yet. "Finnick!" She coughed weakly as dirt filled her lungs. Sunlight peered in from the outside, and she looked up, gasping at the sight of the large jet looming over them.
The Latina could feel the blood gushing from the wound on her head; it made her feel dizzy. She rolled onto her back, eyes drooping heavily. She fought the sleep that threatened to take over, but to no avail.
His name tumbled from her lips in a desperate whisper one last time, before she was consumed by darkness, welcoming death with open arms.
[ welp,, that's a wrap ! there will be an epilogue after this, but after that it's over. i do plan on making a sequel to this but it won't be for a very long time ( probably ). i hope you guys enjoyed reading this book as much as i enjoyed writing it ! thank you to those who have voted on every chapter and left comments ! i know i slack with updates but thank you for still supporting this book ! ]
