━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━

Daphne didn't waste a millisecond. She lunged forward, her knife glistening in the afternoon sun filtering through the trees. Sylla rolled aside at the last minute, popping onto her feet. She unsheathed her own knife from her belt–Daphne noticed with some relief that she only had one left–and parried Daphne's attack.

Daphne swung once again, catching Sylla across the cheek. Daphne barked a deranged laugh as she felt the knife tear through delicate flesh, scraping the bone beneath. Sylla yelled out in pain, blood gushing down the side of her face. Her blade slipped out of her hand.

One of the worst ways to die is to have a lung punctured. Theia's voice echoed in the back of Daphne's mind. Your body will be doing the act of breathing, yet no air can be contained. You die panicked and confused.

Daphne pinpointed the spot on Sylla's chest that would grant her just that. It seemed only fair to repay District Three after one of them had ripped Aedon's stomach open five years ago. She was about to strike when behind them, Lua gave a screech, and Caelum suddenly hollered, "Daphne, throw!"

Daphne whirled around. Caelum had Lua in a chokehold, one arm wrapped tightly around her throat and the other pressing her hands behind her back. She screamed and writhed. Caelum did not let go. Lua was completely defenseless, but Caelum didn't have a practical weapon in hand to finish her off. His arrows were spilled and his bow lay out of reach on the side.

His green eyes were frantic. "Throw it!"

Daphne hurled her knife, aiming straight for Lua's exposed chest. Sylla dived forward, knocking Daphne's arm astray just as the knife left her grasp. It ended up bouncing harmlessly on the grass. Daphne, her body electrified with rage and adrenaline, punched Sylla in the face hard enough she felt her own knuckles crack.

Lua suddenly broke free of Caelum's grasp. She charged for Daphne, who jolted out of the way and snatched up her fallen knife. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sylla spring for Caelum, who was currently unarmed. Within a blink of an eye, Daphne tossed Caelum the blade. He snatched it out of the air with ease and countered Sylla's attack.

In the same movement, Daphne swiveled around and lashed out with a second knife, slicing Lua across the lower torso. Theia had told her that in the heat of battle, people usually expect to be hit higher on their body and protect themselves accordingly. Therefore, aim low.

Lua fell backwards with a shriek. Blood blossomed in a line across the plane of her stomach, but thanks to her vest, the cut wasn't as deep as Daphne had hoped. Lua seized a fallen tree branch from the ground. She swung it in an arc, wielded like a baseball bat, bashing Daphne with enough force to send her wheeling to the ground. Blood sprayed from a new gash on her cheek.

Daphne cried out as she struck the grass, her vision momentarily blinded. She managed to whip her knife across Lua's face, slashing clean across her left eye, but Lua brought the branch down against Daphne's throat, pinning her tight. The knife tumbled from her grasp.

The pain was worse than anything Daphne ever felt, like exploding fireworks in her skull. She fought to cling on to consciousness as Lua pressed her entire weight onto the branch, crushing Daphne's collarbones. Daphne gave an animalistic hiss, baring her teeth and pushing against Lua with all her might. Lua just slammed her back down with every inch Daphne managed to push. Daphne's entire body was beginning to burn with exhaustion.

She spat in Lua's face, mixing with the dirt and blood already there. Lua merely smirked, her slashed eye not seeming to slow her down the slightest. She lowered herself to whisper in Daphne's ear.

"There's no point in struggling," she taunted, nodding towards Sylla and Caelum wrestling just feet away. "Sylla's going to kill your little boyfriend, and I'm going to make you watch the whole thing."

Daphne promptly sank her teeth into Lua's ear. Lua reared back with a screech, and there was an audible rip as Daphne felt the piece of flesh tear unceremoniously. A foul, overwhelming taste of gore filled her mouth, and she spat the chunk out with a sputter.

Lua's hand slammed into Daphne's face, pinning her head sideways in the direction of Sylla and Caelum's scuffle. Daphne struggled, but Lua's grasp was too strong. She had no choice but to stare as Sylla suddenly pulled backwards, dropping her knife and raising her hands in surrender.

"Okay, pretty boy," Sylla huffed, taking a step back. "You win."

Caelum hesitated, confusion written on his face. He was bleeding from several places: a horizontal cut across his face, a slash down his right arm, a shallow tear by his left pec and both of his knees scraped and bruised through the fabric of his pants. Blood was also beginning to soak near the bottom of his left rib, where he must've torn his stitches.

Daphne tried to scream his name, but her voice came out garbled due to the jarring position Lua had pinned her head. Her neck was laced with pain as she whimpered, furiously shoving at Lua to no avail. Blood ran from her nose into her mouth. Her collarbones were on fire. Her lungs were slowly being crushed, causing her to breathe more and more rapidly. Not to mention her head was swimming with another oncoming migraine.

Caelum's gaze snapped up, alarm flashing across his features as he caught sight of Daphne. Sylla swooped down and plucked up her discarded blade, but he didn't seem to notice.

He began to move towards Daphne, the seething fury burning his eyes aimed straight for Lua. Lua flinched back, trembling with sudden, visible terror. Despite this, she still held Daphne fast against the ground with no sign of budging.

Caelum made it two steps.

Two steps before Sylla surged up before him, seizing him by the shoulder.

She plunged her knife straight into his stomach.

The shriek that rang through the air didn't come from Daphne's throat. It came from deep within her chest, in some unknown, raw chamber of her heart. She wasn't even aware she'd made the noise. It had ripped from her like Sylla's knife into Caelum's body.

With a superhuman burst of strength, hot tears streaming down her face, Daphne flung Lua off of her. As Daphne sat up, ignoring the pain that shuddered through her body, she grasped her blade and swept it in a vicious arc. She sliced clean through Lua's throat.

Lua's eyes bugged as she dropped like a stone. She was dead almost instantly, her head lolling grotesquely to the side, severed almost completely from the neck.

Daphne didn't linger. She raced for Caelum, ignoring her body wailing in protest. Caelum's face was ashen with shock, blood leaking from his mouth as Sylla yanked out her knife. Daphne was there to catch him as he crumpled like a puppet snipped from its strings.

"You BITCH!" Daphne screamed at Sylla, who was staring at Lua's slumped form in horror. It must've been something in Daphne's eyes, something wildly unhinged that caused Sylla to pale. She turned tail and fled, but by then Daphne had already turned back to Caelum.

He was completely limp in her arms. Daphne gently lowered him to the ground, cradling his head in her lap. He didn't writhe, didn't cry out. Only shuddering breaths and twitching fingers gave any indication that he was in pain.

His green eyes were dangerously dull, but they were fixed on her face. He weakly reached up and touched the gash on her cheek. "You're hurt."

Daphne let out a sob, her fingers fumbling at his vest. "I'm fine. You're fine. Everything's going to be okay, Caelum, I'm sure it's not that... deep..."

Despite everything, Caelum let out a hoarse chuckle. "Isn't it ironic that I, a butcher's apprentice, ends up being the one butchered in the end?"

"Stop, this is not the end."

Daphne undid his vest, then pulled up his shirt. A dizzy spell struck her as she beheld his wound. She opened and closed her eyes, over and over, hopelessly praying that her vision was deceiving her and that it wasn't as bad as it looked.

"Daphne," Caelum's voice was barely a whisper.

"Be quiet," she said, her voice cracking. "I'll get the supply bag, I'll heal you, I'll... I'll..." She scanned the clearing for the supply bag, which she'd dropped when Sylla and Lua had attacked. It was nowhere in sight. Hysterical sobs bubbled up in her throat.

"Where is it??" She cried, about to stand and scour the area. The entire arena, if she must.

Caelum reached for her hand, then grimaced as pain spasmed through his body. "I saw Sylla take it as she ran away. It's not here, Daphne."

He broke off with a groan, a fresh wave of blood pulsing from his wound. Daphne squeezed his hand, holding him close.

"It's okay, Caelum, it's going to be okay," she whispered. "You're going to be okay, please-"

Caelum didn't say anything. A single teardrop rolled down his bloodied cheek. Deep down, Daphne knew. She knew, but she would not accept it.

"Somebody help!" Daphne wailed, frantically searching for something, anything. "Help, PLEASE!"

She broke into sobs, wracking her body as she screamed and screamed. No sponsored gifts came. No supplies miraculously spawned before her.

"Somebody, please!" The wound on her cheek stung as tears drenched her face.

Caelum's fingers tightened on her hand. Daphne looked down and brushed a trickle of blood from his mouth, dribbling down his chin.

A small, sad smile touched his lips. His eyes were filled with love, so much pure love as he gazed up at her.

"Hey," he said softly, his voice broken and weak. He reached up once again, his fingers brushing her face. "Hey, it'll be alright."

"No," Daphne clasped his hand against her cheek, needing to hold him. To keep him here, anchored to her side, never to be parted. She couldn't bear it. "Caelum, I need you. I need you."

Caelum gave a cough. His chest was rising and falling erratically, no longer the steady rhythm in which she'd watched him breathe just the night before. Just the night before, when she'd fallen asleep in his arms for the first time. Daphne pulled Caelum against her, holding him tight.

"Daphne," Caelum smiled up at her, a smile so bright and passionate even as he bled. Daphne wanted him to look at her like that forever. Like she was perfect, like all her flaws were worth loving and treasuring. Like she didn't have to change any aspect of herself, because he would love her no matter what. Like he would always be there for her, by her side, and she would never be alone again.

"I cannot tell you how grateful I am," he said, tears now falling from his eyes. His thumb gently traced along her cheekbone. "You showed me how it felt to love again, Daphne. In the next life, the life after that, I will find you, and I will love you from the start like I failed to do in this life. I spent so long trapped in darkness, and you brought me the light."

"Caelum, no," Daphne begged in between broken sobs. Tears were running down her cheeks, her chin, her neck. She didn't care. All that mattered in this moment was Caelum, her Caelum. "I just found you, I can't lose you when I've just found you."

Caelum gently shushed her, his hand slackening in her grasp. She strengthened her hold, as if she alone could anchor him to this world, single handedly pulling him back from the edge.

"Please, take care of Ara for me." He rasped. His skin was turning dangerously gray as he paused with a groan of pain. "Look after her, make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

"Caelum-"

"Please Daphne," his green eyes flashed with intensity. "You're the only one I trust."

"I promise." Daphne had fallen quiet, weeping soundlessly now. She nodded, pressing his hand even tighter against her cheek. "I promise. But I also promised her that I would protect you."

Caelum's eyes softened. "You gave me a reason to smile in the arena. That's the best thing I could ever ask for. Ara will understand." He bit back a wince as his wound pulsed. "Daphne, I'm not going to make it, but you can. Survive this. Win this. Return to your family and live a happy life, free from the Games. Fall in love, start a family. I want you to be happy, Daphne. That's all I ever wish for you. Happiness."

"I can't," Daphne whimpered, feeling her heart begin to crack. Their world, their vision, it was all shattering before her eyes. "Not without you, Caelum, not if you're not there with me. We were supposed to live that life together. I can't do it without you."

"You won't be without me," he said softly. "I'll be with you. Every moment, every step of the way I will always be with you."

"Caelum," Daphne's voice was so broken, so lost. "Caelum, please don't leave me."

"I never will." He smiled, his green eyes glimmering weakly. "I love you, Daphne."

Daphne bent down, kissing him gently. His lips were salty with blood, but she barely tasted it. For a second, she was back atop the wooden house, kissing him for the first time beneath the stars. The way she was supposed to be kissing him every day, growing old together in the ranches of District Ten.

"I love you, Caelum. I have for the past six years of my life, and I always will. You will always hold a place in my heart, and I will never be whole again if you're not the one I wake up beside every morning." She sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to steel. "But I will win this. I will live a happy life. I will live the life we should've had. For both of us."

Caelum smiled, his green eyes brimming with tears. They did not leave her face once, as if he wanted to savor every last moment he had with her before he slipped away. "Thank you."

His eyes fluttered shut. Daphne squeezed his hand, struggling to repress her sobs and keep strong when Caelum could not.

She wanted to beg him to get up, to laugh and shake it off like it was just a prank. To hug her and kiss her and tell her he loved her one more time. Just one more time.

Instead, she lay down beside him, feeling his arm weakly curl around her. She cupped his cheek, tracing the dimple by his lip that she loved so much.

And finally, she held him as he released his last breath, the ghost of a smile on his face as he reached peace at last.

━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━

a/n: .......hi guys *smiles nervously*

If it's any consolation, I cried a little while writing this.

So that concludes part 2...!! Part 3 coming right up, we only have 2 chapters left till the end-

*puts on sunglasses*

*moonwalks away*