129 SIXTH CLOUD

"It'll just get in my way anyway."

Get in the way? "But it was so—"

"Beautiful?" Caspia lets out a harsh, dry laugh, strident and mirthless in the dark. "Nothing of mine could ever compare to you."

So Mags was right about the jealousy thing. "But you're a Career," Finnick finds himself saying. He inches further into the room, careful navigating around shards of glass or other broken items. A part of him wonders why he's trying to encourage her, especially when he'd just dismissed her as a lost cause earlier the same day. "You've got a way better chance than any of those Callows, and probably some of the Primaries! The boy from Two is incompetent, and neither tribute from One even showed up at training today."

"It doesn't matter," she mumbles without budging an inch. "None of it matters."

"Come on," Finnick says cajolingly. "To be a victor, you have to have the attitude of a victor. What would Abalone say if he saw you like this?"