“I don’t understand,” I said, confusion lacing my tone as I met his gaze.
I was vaguely aware of Asmodeus approaching at my back, of the polarizing Red magic to either side of me. The boundary before me seemed to exist as if it had been crafted from the magic of the circle itself, but Asmodeus radiated with it as he came to a stop behind me. He held out his hand, palm facing up in invitation. “Margot,” he said, his voice dropping low. It was the faintest murmur, but I felt it strike me in the chest, sinking into my belly. Heat churned there, swirling within me as if Amelia hadn’t taken any the night before. He rekindled that magic anew, my lungsheaving as I tried to push it back. I took a step toward him, my body moving even as my mind screamed in protest.
“No!” I yelled, voicing the pain as I reached out for Beelzebub at my side. He took my arm, restraining me so that I couldn’t go to the man who stood before me. Asmodeus’s beauty was undeniable, it always had been, but there was something more potent about it when he fixated his magic on me. His eyes seemed to glow brighter, and the angles of his face were like the most perfectly carved sculpture from antiquity. “I won’t.”
“You belong here with us, Margot,” Asmodeus said, his voice like a song. I felt my own voice rise to my throat, practically choking on it to keep myself from answering that call. I knew to do so would condemn me, felt it in my bones like someone was trying to warn me. “Stay with me.”
Beelzebub left my side, rushing across the gap between him and the other archdemon. Shoving Asmodeus into a tree, he pinned him there with a hand at his throat as he pummeled his fist into his face. Asmodeus grinned through a mouthful of blood, and the scent of it on the air only made the need building within me stronger. I took another step toward the two, drawn to the magic in the air even if I hated it.
“No!” Beelzebub shouted, holding out his free hand. I stilled, staring at his palm as he fought for breath.
“Step through the boundary. Gluttony is on the other side, songbird. I’ll follow as soon as you’re through,” he said, shoving harder at Asmodeus’s throat as the other archdemon struggled against Beelzebub’s hold. He was no match for Beel’s strength, sputtering and gasping as he drew a finger down Beelzebub’s bare chest. The motion was so sensual it made something within me clench, but Beelzebub ignored him as if he was used to his antics and his undermining way of fighting against Beel’s brute force.
Fighting off the paragon of lust himself.
I stilled, horror running through me.
Beelzebub wasimmune.
“She can’t. I forbid it,” Asmodeus said, grinning at me. The seduction of the smile was ruined by the blood staining his teeth, but it was more than just the dampening effect it gave that made me take a step back, gritting my teeth against the call to go toward him.
No man tells me what to fucking do. Not anymore.
Beelzebub smiled as if he knew just how thoroughly Asmodeus had fucked himself, his deep chuckle of amusement forming a different heat within me. Instead of feeling compelled to go near him against my will, the warmth within me felt like approval, like comfort and acceptance and the warmth of a fire on a winter day. I kept my glare on Asmodeus as I took another step back, raising a hand to stroke the thin boundary between the two circles. Red magic rose up to greet me, twining itself around my fingers as I hesitated in fear.
What if it didn’t allow me to pass? What if it rejected me?
“Look at me, songbird,” Beelzebub said, the soft tone making me obey in spite of myself. His red stare was soft, his mouth curved into a smile that I felt in the depths of my soul. “You can do this. Don’t you dare shrink yourself to fit into the box he wants to put you in. You are more than he would have you be.”
I felt the weight of those words in my heart, the implication striking deep as I turned my stare to Asmodeus. He was so like the others I’d known who wanted me to conform, to behave as a Red witch should.
To embrace the magic that had never felt like mine.
Fuck that.
I severed the bond between Asmodeus and me, cutting the cords of red tendrils he’d extended out to me. They swayed in the wind as I turned away from him fully, looking at Beelzebub from the corner of my eye.
“That’s impossible,” Asmodeus muttered behind me, but I didn’t give his words time to give me pause.
I plunged myself into the boundary, into the Red magic that would consume me if I allowed it.
And I trusted that Beelzebub would find me on the other side.
24
MARGOT
I landed on the other side, sprawled out on the grass with a laugh bubbling in my throat. Magic still rode my body, making my skin feel warm and flushed when it had no place being so any longer. I took the moment alone to center myself against its influence, to ground myself as I pushed to sit up. Shoving all that power back into the well within me, I allowed it to resettle without the constant prodding energy of the Second Circle. I felt it resting on the other side of that boundary, waiting like it would welcome me with open arms, but it had allowed me to pass regardless.
Beelzebub burst through the boundary, his gaze finding mine immediately. He grinned as he saw me sitting on the ground, holding out a hand to help me up. I allowed it, rising to face Asmodeus’s rage-filled features on the other side of the boundary. He didn’t motion to pass through to the Third Circle, not with Beelzebub standing guard beside me.
We were surrounded by Gluttony, a kingdom crafted from excess as I looked around and took everything in. “How did we manage to pass through here without Asmodeus’s approval?” I asked, allowing Beelzebub to guide me with a hand at my waist, turning me in the direction he wanted us to go. I walked beside him, immensely grateful for how easy it was to navigate the springy grass of Gluttony compared to the deep sands of Purgatory that hadbeen literal Hell to walk on. The boots on my feet were far more comfortable without the scalding heat attempting to penetrate the soles, and I felt my body flag as it enjoyed the ease of our stroll.
“We would have needed his approval to pass through using the portal, but Asmodeus greatly overestimates his own importance. His sin may not be pride, but that doesn’t mean his vanity over his own sex appeal hasn’t done damage to his overinflated ego in all facets of his life,” Beelzebub said, smirking down at me as I stared up at him from the side of my eye. “It is our job to make sure the circle we are responsible for is fed, not the other way around. We serve the magic. Somewhere along the line some of us have forgotten that and act like it exists to help us.”
“Careful, you are in grave danger of sounding like Willow,” I said, grinning through the warning.
Beel grunted, the smile drifting from his face as his expression turned hesitantly thoughtful. “I will admit my first assessment of your friend may not have been fair or true to the nature she has shown in the time that has passed since. I believe she simply does what she believes is right at every turn, and while that may sometimes lead her astray in certain aspects, she does it with the best intentions.”
