“And David and Goliath I have done before, but this time there is a difference. David holds the head at arm's length and looks disgusted. And onto Goliath's severed head, I put my own features. The head hangs in darkness so that the black hair and beard framing the face blend off into the shadows, and there are four thin ropes of dark blood trailing down into space from the neck. And in one eye of the freshly severed head, there is still the faint glimmer of life. That's me and that's the last painting I ever did. Spectator, viewer, audience, however you care to call yourself; I address you here, with this, my final picture. Cast a cold eye on it all, and on my work. I am still alive. ”

“Tension pulled my eyes open when her fingers traced a trail down my neck. Sensation blossomed, and I threw my head back and sucked in the air. Her arm slipped around my waist, catching me before I fell. ”

“She threw her arms around my neck and pressed her head into my shoulder. Everything within me stilled. I wrapped my arms around her warmth and softness, closing my eyes to savor the peace Echo's presence brought to me. Life would almost be enjoyable if i could feel this way all the time. I nuzzled the top of her hair with my chin, sending Isaiah a glance of gratidute. Using my arms as chains, i kept Echo locked against me when she pulled her head off my shoulder.”

“After my head has been chopped off, will I still be able to hear, at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from my neck? That would be the pleasure to end all pleasures.”

“There it is again, right in my head, I AM THE CIRCLE AND THE CIRCLE IS ME -But this time it's different -There's a lightness -A breath-stealing feeling -A weightlessness to it that makes my stomach rise -"I give you a gift," he says, his voice floating thru my head like a cloud on fire. "The same gift I've given to my captains. Use it. Use it to defeat me. I dare you."I look into his eyes, into the blackness of them, the blackness that swallows me whole -I AM THE CIRCLE AND THE CIRCLE IS ME.And that's all I can hear in the whole world.”

“I raise my left arm and twist my neck down to rip off the pill on my sleeve. Instead my teeth sink into flesh. I yank my head back in confusion to find myself looking into Peeta’s eyes, only now they hold my gaze. Blood runs from the teeth marks on the hand he clamped over my nightlock.“Let me go!” I snarl at him, trying to wrest my arm from his grasp.“I can’t,” he says.”