P A R T
I:

t h e t r i a l

coven rule one
always put yourself first.
sacrifice at your own
discretion.

—•—•—•

C A S T

CORA as they wanted us weak but forced us to be strong

"women
don't endure
simply because
we can;

no,

women endure
because we aren't
given any other choice"

-•-•-•

ALLRYN as some destruction is beautiful

"the ground—
it ignites
wherever
a woman's
foot
comes down

& if
you're not
careful,

the
very same
thing
could
happen
to you."

-•-•-•

ELENA as the leaves never lie

"the man with the witch-killing look in his eyes drinks deeply from the chipped lilac teacup, his trembling hands making it clink against the saucer as he places them back together. my stomach churns in circles as the dark liquid dribbles down his chin in lines. he eagerly slides the cup & dish to me across the old, rickety table & i waste no time turning the cup over onto the dish to get rid of the excess. when i turn the cup right-side up, i spot the clusters of soggy brown & black leaves that litter the bottom in various shapes & sizes. i study it for a moment & immediately look away, nervously wringing my hands in my skirts. there's no question what that means.

"well? what does it say?" he asks.

i keep my eyes down. "the leaves say you're going to...pay."

"p-pardon?" he sputters, his eyes filling to the brim with terror.

"they say...you're all going to pay," i whisper'"

-•-•-•

MORGAN as good news

"they
will try
to steal
your light

& use it as
a weapon
against
you.

but there's
a piece
of good
news:

they
don't have
the patience to
control it

like you do."

-•-•-•

ALYSSANDRA as you are your own lighthouse

"when our abilities
became too much,

they tried to
shut us away

in the dark
without even

a candle
to guide us out.

little
did they know,

our
woman-rage-fire

would light
our path home

just fine."

-•-•-•

ASTRID as & never giving up in spite of it

"to be a
woman
is to be
warbound
k n o w i n g
all the odds
are stacked
against you"

-•-•-•

P L A Y L I S T

i. i did something bad | taylor swift
"they're burning all the witches
even if you aren't one"

ii. battle cry | beth crowley
"i'm our for blood
to claim what's mine"

iii. gasoline | halsey
"you can't wake up
this is not a dream"

iv. game of survival | ruelle
"this is a wild
game of survival"

v. run for your life | the fray
"but this house is on fire
we need to go"

vi. forest fire | brighton
"when you were young
you used to dream about fire"

vii. good mourning | halsey
"all i know is a hopeless place
that flows with the blood of my kin"

-•-•-•

M O O D B O A R D S
of the coven

C O R A

"...even if you aren't one"

A L L R Y N

"...finally questioning if i am my own worst enemy"

E L E N A

"...you don't have to go it alone"

M O R G A N

"...that flows with the blood of my kin"

A S T R I D

"...are we the hunters or are we the prey?"

-•-•-•

author's note
all of the poems used above belong to amanda lovelace, and are from her book "the witch doesn't burn in this one". this book is heavily influenced by lovelace's book, and i use several quotes from it. they all belong to her, not me.