All Celia wanted was to make tasty sandwiches for a friend's baby shower. When her cooking endeavors summon a demon in her kitchen, Celia thinks sending him back to his home will be the end of their story and that she'll be able to return to her mun...
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"I wasn't aware you would be entertaining me as well." The Aloryi's lips curved into a sultry smile, his piercing eyes sliding downward from my face. His tail swayed in a slow rhythm as he rubbed his chin.
"And I didn't know Mayar had left to bring you here." I crossed my arms over my stomach. The way my "guest" examined me sent a small thrill through me and made my skin prickle into goosebumps.
"Mayar tells me you were given a message to relay to me." The Aloryi tilted his head and finally raised his gaze from my bare legs to my face, then out the window behind me. "You have a garden?"
"Yes."
"Then let's converse there once you've changed. Will you share your wine with me?" He motioned toward my left hand, which gripped an unopened bottle of sweet red wine.
"...sure." I set the bottle on the kitchen island before pivoting to go back to my room. "I won't take long."
Once in my room, I stared at my closet before shaking my head and opting for a robe instead. It was my house and he was the intruder. I would dress however I pleased, but it was too cold outside to forgo the robe. I slipped on a pair of slippers as well, then returned to the main living area. There, I discovered my guest examining a bookcase.
"You collect crystals and trinkets?" The Aloryi asked without turning around. He ran a clawed finger down the spine of one book, his tail swaying lazily behind him. "Books on the metaphysical, tarot cards... You do realize most of these don't work, don't you?"
I strode over and joined him in front if the bookcase. "I have them because they're interesting, not because I was trying to learn. Well, that's not entirely true. The folklore books are something I tried to learn from."
"Interesting in what way?" The Aloryi finally looked down at me, a baffled expression on his chiseled face.
"Psychologically. Humans have turned to religion and other belief systems for thousands of years. It's interesting to learn about those different systems, their rise and fall, the effect they had on people of the time..." I paused to reach up and pull down a book I'd purchased years ago from David's store. "Take this one, for example. It covers ancient Celtic practices. These aren't the kinds of things we learn about in school. Even ancient Egypt is barely touched on."
"And learning about the past pleases you?" The Aloryi archer an eyebrow at me. "Furthermore, you read such subjects and found nothing on the Underrealm or my people?"
"You're welcome to check yourself, if you want to." I motioned at the bookshelf. "Oh. Though, you wanted to go to the garden, right?"
"Yes." The Aloryi pivoted and strode away from the bookshelf, a contemplative frown on his lips. "You're a strange human."
"Am I?" I fetched the wine and two glasses before following him out the French doors that led to my small garden.
The Aloryi ducked under a flowering arch and headed toward the seating area as he spoke, "You have ties to an infamous family of sorcerers, yet your first instinct was to free me. Despite lacking magic, you were capable of summoning one of the most powerful individuals bound to that book. You seem uninterested in gaining power. How did you grow up in such a household and not discover your family's secrets?"
