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WARNING: MATURE SCENES AHEAD
CORALINE had never felt more anxious. Her mind liked to deceive her at the worst moments, showing her images of apples that haunted her for days. Sometimes she would wake up to see half-eaten apples covering her bedroom floor, but the second she blinked, they were gone. She couldn't stop thinking about the foam and vomit lingering around the survivors' corpses. A vision like that was difficult to forget.
Michael told her not to worry, though, as if that was so easy. She didn't understand why he was being so nonchalant about it. He told her before that the bonding ceremony made her "third eye stronger," meaning that her visions would be more accurate. If that was the case, then this apple trick was bound to happen, but when?
Over the next two days, Coraline couldn't stop bringing it up. She asked him if there was some kind of symbolism for the apples that she just wasn't grasping, but Michael would tell her that it wasn't worth her getting stressed over. She didn't believe that. The only way he finally got her to shut up was pinning her against a wall in the shower and allowing her to have her way with him. Always the master of control.
Coraline decided that she needed to grin and bear it. She needed to ignore the façades of apples and continue keeping her third eye open to suspicions. It was obvious that Ms. Mead and Ms. Venable had to be involved somehow, since they hadn't been part of the group lying dead on the ground. But they could've also died in another place, if that were the case. She wasn't quite convinced of their innocence.
Late in the afternoon, Coraline decided to take a walk to see what her two superiors were up to. Maybe they would prove her suspicions wrong. As Coraline strode by the kitchens, she was suddenly reminded of the pain throbbing in between her thighs. This Trinity bond was surely going to kill her, and for the sake of her own legs, she hoped these sexual desires could cease for just a day.
Rubbing a hand over her eyes, Coraline rounded the corner of the library and headed for the dining hall. Venable had to be somewhere around there, but what would she ask her? Coraline was no detective, by any means. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted once she heard whispers emerge from the library. She stopped by the entrance, stepping back and pressing her face into the doorframe. Peering over the side, she spotted Gallant and Coco sitting in front of the fire. A wicked smile engulfed Coco's face, and she turned slightly towards the entrance to make sure no one was listening. Coraline hid again, but still lingered by the frame.
"I finally had my second interview with Langdon," she whispered eagerly, "which proves he's been thinking about me all this time. The selections have to be coming soon."
Gallant scoffed, "I'm starting to think we all might just die here from hunger."
"Oh, hush up," Coco snickered. "Don't be jealous that I'm getting into the Sanctuary."
