THE STENCH OF BURNING FLESH REMAINED— a stagnant, lingering reminder of the woman that couldn't bring herself to pass the torch peacefully. Corey couldn't forget the guttural screams that Fiona let out only hours before, couldn't shake them from her head as they echoed out inside her mind. It was ingrained in her memory, embroidered into her very being, tightly stitched together and holding her hostage.
Corey focused on the words that the Supreme directed towards her, one last taunting curtain close from the woman who once had it all; I'll see you in hell, Little Bird. The redhead felt the vibration from deep inside her bones almost immediately, the painful rattle as the energy transferred from old Supreme to new. She struggled to remain upright, the radiating numbness becoming so much at one point that it almost brought her to her knees.
When her legs buckled underneath her, finally giving way to the constant energy that pulsated through them, Zoe and Madison caught her. They supported her weight, keeping her stable until she could stand on her own once more. Though she had been a safe distance away from the pyre, the flames that itched to escape from within continued well after the trial by fire had come to a close.
Corey's hands shook ever so slightly, her nerves still getting the best of her as she tried to find something to occupy her time. She decided on what she thought was a suitable distraction, something that kept her full attention while she waited for the Seven Wonders to begin; she was going to fix Kyle. The musician was positive that she wouldn't be able to completely bring the boy back to what he once was, but she felt the need to do something to thank Zoe for her consistent help.
The brunette stood by her side from what had felt like the very beginning, even after Madison taunted her and dragged her down. The blonde treated Zoe like a bottom-rung, hazing the newest addition the way she thought all collective groups of women treated their most recent members. Corey once feared that the members of the Coven could never get along with one another, their cultural and societal backgrounds each completely different in their own way. Now, after everything the group had been through, the girls had finally begun the process of melding together.
Zoe and Madison learned to co-inhabit their mutual space; the blonde realized, after her death and resurrection, that she took the brunette's company and kindness for granted. Queenie started to see through Madison's hard outer shell, the smaller girl's verbal attacks finally showing themselves as nothing more than a way to protect herself from getting hurt emotionally. Nan— though still hurt over Joan's insistence to keep her away from Luke— had begun to flourish within the group, her powers growing as her confidence in herself blossomed.
Corey stood over the floppy haired boy, securing the chains that would keep him restrained against the greenhouse table. Madison hovered closely, her eyes soft as they followed the redhead around the room. The new Supreme moved with purpose, her lips moving frantically as she muttered the incantation to herself silently. She mixed the spell components together as she shuffled, ignoring Kyle as he let out a guttural groan. The paste within the mortar in her hands slowly became a liquid under the pestle, and she knelt down next to the boy who had been crudely pieced back together.
"Corey, you need rest," Madison pleaded, her eyes soft as she watched the girl she loved continue to work herself into the ground only hours after she almost lost consciousness due to the overwhelming surge of energy that engulfed her.
"Can't. Too nervous," the redhead chirped, her focus remaining on the build-a-boy in front of her before quickly returning to her incantation. She lifted the mortar up to his lips and he made a sloppy attempt to snap his face away. Corey reached out, the fingers of her free hand firmly grasping his cheeks and forcing him to ingest the concoction she mixed together specifically for him. He protested once more, though he suddenly settled at the sight of the exhausted witch in front of him.
"Cor, you can't go through the Seven Wonders like this. You need to get some sleep." Madison knelt down next to the redhead, ignoring the puzzle of a man in front of her. Her hands fluttered around the other girl for a moment before they finally found a home for themselves— her left hand in the crook of Corey's elbow while the right cradled her cheek.
"I'll be fine." Corey squeezed her eyes closed, trying to shake off the exhaustion. Madison's comforting touch only made her body want to give in even more. She cleared her throat, opening her eyes once again to see Kyle scrunching his nose, trying to regain control of his motor skills as a tingling sensation took over his nerves. Corey turned her head in Madison's direction, her tired eyes scanning the blonde's dull skin. She sighed deeply.
"Madison is right, Corinna," Cordelia spoke up, pulling herself from the work she was occupied with. Misty bounced on her heels beside the older woman, the excitement of finally working with and being around others like her radiating from within. "You need your rest. Misty and I will take over from here." Corey and Madison rose to their feet, the smaller of the two still holding the other.
The older woman walked up to Madison with a mug of tea, the steam rising from the glass in thick wafts. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder to grab her attention. "Drink it while it's still hot, and drink it fast." Madison jumped slightly, the sudden contact startling her enough to make her let go of the redhead beside her. Corey sighed, her shoulders rolling as she felt the exhaustion continue to creep in.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," the witch groaned as she blinked back the sleep that threatened to take over as she stood up taller. "Kyle should be normal by sun up, but keep an eye on him just in case." Cordelia passed the mug in her hands to Madison as Corey rambled. The blonde quickly did as she was told with a nod, her nose scrunching in distaste at the bitterness of the liquid that only proved to be more unpalatable in excess.
She let out a cough as she finished the contents of the mug, using her knuckles as a napkin to wipe away any of the concoction that lingered. Slowly, the milky tone returned to the girl's skin, and what was left of the gash across her throat faded completely. As Madison finally pulled the mug from her lips, swallowing hard, the flecks of green and gold returned to her warm honey-toned eyes.
Corey's tired eyes took in the other girl, a sleepy smirk taking over most of her face. Fiona was gone. Madison was back to looking human again, and the redhead could tell that it brought the smaller girl's confidence back to the surface. Kyle was going to be as normal as he could come sunrise. Cordelia had never seemed happier, even if she was still in the wake of her own mother's execution.
Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies was finally starting to feel like home, somewhere Corey was happy and comfortable. The coven was growing stronger together, and the redhead knew that she'd protect the other girls with her life if she needed to. She was exactly where she needed to be; Corey found her family.