Immediately after the interviews, Katniss realizes that Peeta has publicly declared his love for her, and the Capitol audience responds exactly as Haymitch hoped. Furious at being made into part of a story she did not agree to, Katniss avoids Peeta until they reach their floor, then shoves him hard enough to smash a decorative urn and cut his hands. Haymitch and Peeta explain that the confession was a calculated attempt to make Katniss more appealing to viewers and sponsors, because the image of tragic lovers will attract sympathy and gifts in the arena.

Katniss resists the idea at first because she feels humiliated and manipulated, but Portia, Cinna, and Haymitch all insist that her shocked reaction made the story believable. When Katniss asks whether she seemed capable of loving Peeta in return, they confirm that she did. Realizing the plan may truly help her survive, Katniss apologizes, and Peeta shrugs it off even though his hands need treatment. Watching the replay later, Katniss sees that Peeta appears genuinely charming and devoted, while she now seems beautiful, desirable, and tragic rather than forgettable.

As the night ends, Effie gives an emotional farewell that is sincere but still selfishly tied to her own ambitions. Haymitch gives the clearest practical advice of the chapter: when the gong sounds, Katniss and Peeta should avoid the bloodbath at the Cornucopia, run, put distance between themselves and the others, and find water. That blunt strategy strips away the performance and reminds Katniss that the Games begin in the morning.

Unable to sleep, Katniss goes to the roof and finds Peeta there watching the Capitol celebrate. Their conversation turns serious when Peeta says his main wish is to die as himself and not let the Capitol turn him into a monster or a pawn who belongs to them. Katniss, who is focused on practical survival, does not understand why that matters more than staying alive, and the exchange ends in irritation and distance between them.

Before dawn, Cinna escorts Katniss onto a hovercraft, where a tracker is implanted in her arm so the Gamemakers can always locate her. In the underground Launch Room beneath the arena, Katniss learns the arena is treated as both a killing ground and a future tourist site, which deepens her horror at the Capitol's cruelty. Cinna helps her dress in standard arena clothes, fastens her mockingjay pin to her shirt, comforts her as she waits, and sends her upward with confidence in her chances. Katniss rises into bright daylight, smells pine in the wind, and hears Claudius Templesmith announce the start of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games.