“Can’t you just,” I waved a hand wildly toward the oak for show, “use your magic and get the sap? Easy peasy?”
He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I think this is a perfect opportunity for you to practice your own magic, my treasure. Don’t you agree?”
I didn’t agree at all, but how was I going to tell him no? He wasn’t always receptive to the word, depending on the situation. Then again, he’d already said I could back out if I wanted to.
I glanced at the tree with a disgusted grimace. No, I didn’t want to give up. I wanted my Christmas tree, damn it.
“We caught it in the middle of a meal, so its movements will be slower while its digestive system works to break down those bones,” he assured me before bending to press a quick kiss to my lips. I shuddered as he stepped away. “You can do this, Rayven.”
Turning to face the blood oak, I steeled myself. I wanted to prove myself as the Queen of Hell; this was just another opportunity to show Belial my mettle. Then again, he already knew.
I needed to prove it to myself. Maybe then, I’d finally rid myself of the space in my mind that the blood oak still occupied.
As much as I wasn’t fucking looking forward to it, I needed to do this.
Ash still drifted down around us slowly, coating the ground around my feet, and when the magic in my veins sparked, a gust of wind whipped the nearest flakes away. I could feel it, the power, hovering beneath my skin, swelling like a torrent. It vibrated in my fingertips, and I focused on the swaying branches overhead.
Focus, Rayven.I could almost hear Belial’s voice urging me on, even though he hadn’t said anything.Focus.
In a blink, a vine wrapped around my ankle and jerked me upward. The ground disappeared, my stomach turning with the sudden shift in gravity, and a scream ripped from my throat. I was dangling, several feet off the ground, hair swaying beneath me as the blood oak hoisted me toward its gaping maw.
Panic started to bubble up from my chest as flashbacks came slamming into the forefront of my mind.
Then, everything froze. The slithering vines stilled, along with the gnarled branches around me. I looked over to see Belial approaching, a small smile curving his scarred lips. We were almost eye-level when he stopped a foot from me.
“This is the part where you free yourself. I’m not really in the mood to see my queen be devoured by anything other than me.” His smile widened as he reached up to drag a finger along the column of my neck, making me shiver. “Though I do love it when you’re bound and at my mercy.”
His hand drifted higher, fingers slipping through the heart cut-out of my top, brushing over one of my pierced nipples. It pebbled instantly.
His smile wasn’t mocking as it had been in the past. Instead, I felt reassured, and his touch drove back the anxiety and panic that threatened to take over.
“Okay,” My breath faltered, and I gave him a quick peck of a kiss to his lips. “Let me try again.”
Appearing pleased by my decision, Belial withdrew his hand and flicked his wrist sharply. The vine around my ankle let go, and I dropped into his arms. He righted me, letting me get my bearings as my head swam a little, before releasing me.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” I lied.
I positioned myself again and nodded, my eyes trained on the giant tree before me. This time, when it began to move, its veins slithering to life, I was a little more prepared. I tapped into the magic in my veins faster, drawing it to the surface, letting it fill me like water pooling in a vessel.
Wind lashed around me, stirring the falling ashes again and tousling my hair. I directed the arcane energy at the blood oak, trying to control its many branches and vines, willing them to still the way Belial did so effortlessly.
To my surprise, they began to slow, as if the oak had been suspended in a vat of its own sap.
“Try harder,” Belial urged behind me, his voice sounding distant because of the pulse in my ears.
I gritted my teeth and dug deeper, siphoning more magic from the pit of my soul. I harnessed and honed in on the monstrous tree with my hatred for the thing driving my resolve to lethal levels.
To my shock, and Belial’s delight, the massive tree stopped moving altogether.
Relief crashed over me in a powerful wave, leaving me breathless.
Panting, I sent my devilish demon a thumbs up, and he laughed. “Excellent.Now, collect the sap before your magic wears off.”
I didn’t have to be told twice.
Unstopping the vial he’d given me, I hurried forward to the base of the trunk. The rancid smell bubbling up from the bark had my insides shriveling, and I did my best not to gag as I sliced through the thick bark with a bit more magic. Viscous liquid oozed from the gash, and I collected it as quickly as I could, filling the tiny glass container.
