Zoe had always hated funerals.

Her first funeral was her grandmother's. She had only been four, and far too young to truly process the meaning of death. She could never understand why she couldn't simply go to her grandmother's resting figure and wake her up. She didn't understand the tears and overwhelming sadness that surrounded her, but she knew that she didn't like it.

She had been to her ex boyfriend's funeral, but was ushered out when one of their schoolmates began to assault her with accusations. At the time, she had been racked with guilt and confusion. Upon later discovering that she had indeed been responsible for the boy's death, her mind had shut down completely.

The following funerals took place after joining the Coven. She had expected to find safety and relief when she arrived at Ms. Robichaux's Academy. With her sister witches at her side, she was going to finally understand how to control her abilities. Instead, she was only met with more death. It was as though Fate was playing a cruel joke on her. Death after death after death; the concept of hope seemed to be but a myth.

Then there had been the Resurrections. The power to bring someone back to the dead in the form of Misty Day and then Zoe herself. For a while, she was elated with the concept that she could bring back whoever she wanted. She would no longer be plagued by the wreckage that Death left behind.

Or so she thought.

Kyle was Zoe's saving grace. He was broken, even after multiple attempts to fix him, but Zoe wouldn't have him any other way. After things calmed down a bit, and peace had settled in the house, Zoe finally had time to actually love Kyle. They were always at each other's side, and Zoe had never felt safer than she did in Kyle's arms. Even with the arrival of new girls - which Zoe had feared, considering Kyle's position as the only man in the house (or rather, the only attractive man in the house, with Spalding lurking about the attic) - Kyle remained as faithful as ever. Even Cordelia acknowledged the young couple's connection.

"After Hank, I assumed that love was a bunch of.. well, bullshit," the Supreme had said one day as Zoe helped her in the greenhouse. Zoe snorted at the choice of words, giving the elder witch a small smile. "But then I see you and Kyle and I suddenly realize that there's hope."

Zoe hadn't known what to say, but she made sure to tell Kyle how much she loved him as soon as she returned to her room. Looking into his dark eyes she felt as though she was falling into them. Into a pool of dark love that filled up every cavity in her soul. She was no longer empty - not with the dimpled smile and strong arms that would always keep her safe.

Unfortunately, not everything could remain as perfect as she thought. It started with a fight. Zoe walked in on one of the girls, Alyssa, arguing with another, Marya. Vases and picture frames flew across the room as the girls screamed out their frustrations. At one point Marya was even lifted off the ground and slammed into the far wall.

"Stop it!" Zoe ordered, holding her hands in front of her. Each girl froze in response, wide eyes darting between each other and the witch that had intervened. "What the hell is going on here? I specifically remember Cordelia telling all of you that using your powers against your sister witches was absolutely prohibited."

Alyssa scowled and Zoe noticed a second too late as her fingers curled at her side. Suddenly, the blonde felt as though a swift punch had been delivered to her gut and she groaned as her back hit the wall. Her vision blurred as Alyssa approached her.

"I don't take orders from anyone. Not to mention I'm two years older than you. I don't care if you are Cordelia's favorite bitch." Zoe struggled to get to her feet, but she felt as though there were weights attached to her wrists and ankles. Alyssa smirked and lifted her hand, while Zoe shut her eyes, trying to focus all her energy on-

"Zoe?"

Zoe opened her eyes to see Alyssa's wide-eyed gaze focused on the doorway. She immediately dropped her hand and stepped back as Kyle rushed into the room, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and helping her to her feet. His dark eyes landed on Alyssa who seemed to shrink under his gaze.

"What the fuck did you do?" he demanded, and Zoe placed a hand on his chest to keep him from snapping the young witch's neck.

"She was fighting with Marya and I stepped in," Zoe explained quietly. "It's alright, we'll let Cordelia handle it." Kyle didn't seem to be listening and Zoe could almost feel every muscle in his body tense up. "Kyle, no." Her hand went to his cheek and he flinched as though just remembering that she was there. He tore his eyes away from Alyssa's to meet Zoe's. She shook her head slightly and his body relaxed a bit before he began to lead her toward the door.

"Don't fucking touch her again," he commanded, voice dripping with venom.

Zoe looked back at Alyssa who watched them with the same wide eyes. It took her a moment, but Zoe noticed that the girl's cheeks had turned a shade of red and she nervously tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. It wasn't until dinner that night, when Zoe watched Alyssa knock over her wine only to call Kyle over to clean it, that she realized what that expression had been.

Oh.

"You're just now realizing this?" Emma asked Zoe from the couch, not bothering to look at up from her phone. "Everyone and their mother knows that Alyssa has the hots for your Frankenstein monster. You should hear her at night when she's feeling 'lonely'." To Zoe's horror, Emma threw her head back, breathing deeply. "Oh Kyle, Kyle," she moaned before bursting into laughter when a pillow made contact with her face.

"She doesn't," the blonde began, though the uncertainty in her voice was obvious.

"She does," Emma sang. "You might as well get out of your pool of denial now - Alyssa has it bad for your boyfriend, and she'll do just about anything to make sure that he's hers."

Zoe had always known that she was naive. She tried to look for the best in people. Hell, she had been the same with Kyle after knowing him for less than an hour. She could still remember having argued with Madison about the boy's character, even though she knew little more about him than a stranger on the street. Maybe it was love at first sight, as Myrtle had once declared, or maybe she was just stupid and got lucky that Kyle wasn't actually a rapist. Then again, he hadn't been alive long enough for her to find out. She wanted to assume that the protective, loyal, sensitive Kyle that she knew now was the same person she had met at that ridiculous party. But she couldn't be sure - with all the magic that it took to bring him back, and Fiona's own repairs, it was hard to tell who she had fallen in love with, or what.

That being said, naivety was her specialty.

That was probably the reason why she hadn't thought to pay attention as the girls went out to celebrate that night. Mardi Gras had begun and there was no way in Hell that they were going to miss it. Cordelia even seemed to be in a festive mood as she shuffled out the door. Unfortunately, Zoe had come down with some kind of food poisoning and was confined to her bed while everyone else went to party. Well, everyone except Kyle who stayed behind to stroke her damp hair and spoon-feed her chicken broth.

"You should go have fun," she sighed. "I've never been to Mardi Gras, so I don't feel like I'm missing out. But you go."

Kyle shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Nah, I haven't gone since I went with-" his voice cut off and his gaze briefly fell on his arm - more specifically, on the small clover tattoo that graced it. He quickly tore his gaze away, but not before Zoe noticed. "I'm okay," he forced the smile back onto his face. "Sorry."

"No, I should be saying sorry," she began, but was interrupted as Kyle practically shoved the spoon in her mouth. She narrowed her eyes and slapped his arm, gaining a laugh out of him. God, how she loved his laugh. It made her heart want to leap out of her chest, and brought the most genuine of smiles to her face. "Kyle?" she started, taking his hand. "I love-"

The moment was ruined by the sound of the front door slamming and glass breaking. Kyle's eyes widened and his body went rigid. He glanced down at his watch-an expensive gift from Cordelia as he became the house's new butler; she said it was so he wouldn't lose track of time while he was with Zoe. Chores still needed to be done. "It's only nine; they shouldn't be back yet." Zoe tried to push herself into a sitting position, but was almost grateful as Kyle put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back onto her pillows. "No, stay here. I'll take care of it. Lock the door." Before she could say anything else, he was gone.

Another thing that Zoe had always despised was feeling helpless. It was one of the things she hated even when she was little. She wanted to take care of people - save them if they needed it. That was one of the things that had torn her up when Kyle had first died; the fact that she hadn't been able to save him, warn him, or even protect him from her old friend's wrath. It was what motivated her to bring him back. Rubbing her temples, she slowly pushed herself up, back against the headboard. She hesitantly picked up the spoon and forced more of the broth down her throat. Her mind was racing, certainly not helping her headache. She wanted to know what was going on below. Why hadn't Kyle come back yet? How long had it been? What was that smell-

Eyes widening, she froze in her position as she realized what she was smelling. Smoke. Forcing herself out of bed, and attempting to keep her balance as the room began to spin, she stumbled to the door, fumbling with the lock. As the door swung open, her eyes began to burn as she was immediately greeted with smoke. "Kyle?" she practically wheezed, hands pressing against the walls in order to steady herself. She could barely see through the haze, and stumbled just as she reached the stairs. Peeking over the banister she noticed the orange glow coming from the main room. "Kyle!" she screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks. She used the banister to pull herself to her feet, whimpering as she started down the stairs. If she could just make it to the door-

She stopped on the third step as there was a suddenly loud noise and a burst of light. Falling back onto the steps, Zoe lifted her shirt collar to cover her nose and mouth, stumbling back up as fire consumed her original destination. Where was Cordelia? Were the girls still out? Where was Kyle?

"Zoe!"

Hearing his voice made her heart skip a beat and she stumbled down the hallway. It seemed as though his voice was coming from one of the bedrooms. She almost fell into the room, practically crawling to the window. "Kyle?" She gripped the curtains and pulled herself up, eyes widening when she spotted her boyfriend standing just below. His blonde hair was matted to one side of his forehead with blood, but she noticed there wasn't any sign that he had been in the fire. Why was he out of the house? What started the fire? Who- There was the sound of another explosion and Zoe struggled to open the window.

"Zoe, jump!" Kyle held out his arms. "The whole first floor is on fire, you have to jump!"

Zoe nodded, gripping the windowsill and fully prepared to climb on the ledge. Then something stopped her. Her brain lost focus on the fear and rationality. She suddenly felt as though it would be safer to stay where she was. It would be better if the window was closed, trapping both her and the smoke inside. Distantly she could hear Kyle screaming for her to jump, but that didn't make sense. Why would she jump when she could just stay here? Suddenly, Kyle disappeared from view, and Zoe's gaze fell on a shadow on the grounds just behind where he had been. It took her a moment, with the smoke practically blinding her and making it incredibly hard to breathe. There was another explosion, but Zoe didn't move. Her eyes struggled to focus on the figure in the darkness, and after a minute she finally recognized the long dark hair and hateful gaze.

No. It took most of her strength to free her mind and return her own will. She opened the window again, coughing as she tried to suck in as much air into her lungs as possible. She could no longer see Kyle below her, but she knew she had no other choice. She climbed up onto the windowsill, the sound of crackling behind her, before throwing herself off. She was suspended for just a moment and held out her hands in front of her. She plummeted, but stopped just a second before impact. She hit the ground with a groan, attempting to push herself up but being met with a sharp pain in her wrist.

"Zoe!"

This time it was Cordelia's voice, and Zoe allowed hands to pull her to her feet. Cradling her wrist, she searched the faces of her coven. "Where's Kyle?" she whispered.

"We just saw him run back into the house," Emma spoke up, blue eyes glassy with fear. "He said that he had to get someone out."

"Someone..." Zoe felt as though everything was unraveling around her. "There was no one else, it was just-" The image of the figure suddenly appeared, and Zoe blinked rapidly before realizing that it wasn't a figment of her imagination.

Alyssa looked horrified upon seeing Zoe's face. "What are you doing out?" she all but whispered. "You weren't supposed to get out."

Zoe barely had time to think before her feet had her running towards the house. She stopped underneath the window she had jumped from. "Kyle! Kyle, get out! Kyle, I'm safe, please!" She could hear Kyle's voice for just a second, screaming her name before it was drowned out by a series of explosions. Flames burst from the windows and the house creaked. The screaming suddenly stopped and Zoe felt her heart shatter with the broken glass. She could distantly hear her own broken wails as someone pulled her away from the burning building. Her vision blurred and soon grief and horror overwhelmed her, leaving her limp in her friends' arms.

Zoe almost hadn't gone to the funeral. There was nothing left of Kyle to bury, leaving the girls to just stand amongst the ruins in broken silence. The fire was dubbed as a hate crime against the newly exposed Coven, and the girls had been able to take shelter in the abandoned Ramsey house next door. Cordelia was in the process of filing the necessary paperwork to purchase the house. It was an idea that she had after more students began arriving, yet no one had expected the change to take place so suddenly. There was nothing left; the girls had lost their belongings and their original safe haven. And Zoe had lost Kyle.

It was two days before Zoe left her new room. She shared it with Emma, who knew better than to bother her friend as she silently mourned. Zoe was broken, and being in the house where everyone had seemingly forgotten what happened on the property next door was driving her mad. She was almost grateful when Cordelia called her in.

"How are you, Zoe?" Cordelia broke the looming silence as the young witch sat in front of her. Zoe didn't bother to look up from the floor, and Cordelia didn't blame her. "Zoe, believe me, I know exactly how you're feeling right now."

"No, you don't," Zoe whispered. "Your husband went on a mass murdering spree before he was killed, by one of us, to save the lives of others." Cordelia's lips formed a thin line and Zoe swallowed down the growing guilt. She knew that Cordelia had loved Hank, though she was blind to his true nature. She had mourned greatly over his death, but it wasn't the same thing. "Kyle didn't do anything wrong. He came in to save me, and that bitch murdered him." Zoe finally looked up to meet the Supreme's wide eyed gaze. "I want her to burn."

"She will be punished," Cordelia stated. "While she did do wrong by attempting to end the life of a fellow witch, she did not get away with that. Therefore there is no... official cause for her to be burned at the stake, however-"

"I want her dead!" Zoe stood up. "She killed Kyle. What don't you understand about that? Kyle was a part of this coven."

"As was Spalding," Cordelia reminded her softly. "And you murdered him without facing any repercussions."

Zoe was at a loss for words. She couldn't fathom how Cordelia could be so blind. Actually, she could. "If Queenie were here, she would agree. Then you would have to burn the bitch."

Cordelia ran her tongue over her teeth before clearing her throat and pulling a cream folder out of the desk drawer. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. I believe that Queenie is in danger." Pausing and taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Zoe slowly sat herself down. "You do recall my sending her out to Los Angeles? Well, it appears that she's gone... missing. Nothing official by the police, but I've seen that she is trapped somewhere. I haven't been able to contact her in days, and she never showed up to that television show. I'm worried that something terrible has happened to her."

"You want me to go find her?" Zoe blinked incredulously and Cordelia nodded her head.

"Zoe, I know that you are in pain." Cordelia nudged the folder across the desk. "But I also know that being here hasn't helped the matter. Maybe it would do well for you to get away for a little bit, and this presents the perfect opportunity. We need to find out what's happened to Queenie." The Supreme sighed softly, shaking her head. "I think there's something... dark going on. And, whatever it is, I want to know about it before it comes here and we face... another tragedy."

Zoe pursed her lips, picking up the cream folder and opened it with shaky hands. She had to agree - she needed to get out of the house. And the last thing that she could handle was losing Queenie too. That would leave her as the only one from her original coven. Especially now that- She shook her head, forcing the thoughts away. The first thing she saw was a photo of an old fashioned building. There was something beautiful about the way it was constructed, yet the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood up as her eyes trailed over the photo.

"That is the hotel that Queenie checked into. The hotel is known for being... haunted, to say the least, but I believe there's something darker and I'm afraid that Queenie's been caught up in it." Cordelia sighed, rising from her seat and coming around to kneel next to Zoe. She placed a hand on the girl's arm, giving her a smile that held a deep sense of empathy. There was so much left unspoken in the look they exchanged, but Cordelia knew that no words would ever be able to fix the situation. Instead, she simply left the girl to flip through the photographs.

Zoe turned back to the photo of the hotel, holding it up with shaky hands. She noticed a figure in one of the third floor windows. It appeared to be a young man; his figure blended into the shadows and they covered half of his face, save for his eyes. Dark orbs that, for some reason she couldn't explain, sent her heart slamming against her rib cage as her eyes traveled down to the bottom of the photo.

The Hotel Cortez, Los Angeles, California