The square was suffocatingly silent. The only sound was the sharp rustle of paper as Effie Trinket delicately unfolded the first slip.

She smiled, bright and artificial. “The female tribute for the 74th Annual Hunger Games is…”

Your name.

The world tilted.

You barely heard the gasps around you, barely registered the way hands reached for you but didn’t quite touch. Your feet moved on their own, carrying you toward the stage, toward your fate. The stage steps felt impossibly high, and the moment your shoes hit the wooden platform, you felt like you were standing in a grave.

And then—

“The male tribute for District Twelve is…”

Jason Todd.

Your stomach dropped.

The crowd stirred again, a few scattered murmurs rising above the stunned quiet. Your eyes snapped to him as he stood, frozen in place for only a second before his jaw tightened.

Jason didn’t hesitate. He walked to the stage like it was nothing, like it didn’t shake the very foundation of your world. His blue eyes met yours as he took his place beside you, but he didn’t look shocked. He looked… angry. Determined.

Your fingers twitched at your sides, itching to reach for him, to grab onto something solid as the weight of what just happened settled into your chest. Jason had been your friend since childhood—your partner in crime, the only person who ever really understood what it meant to survive in District Twelve. And now you’d both been chosen to die.