Chapter Nine

“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?”

“Well, at least I now know why I’m an outcast.” I sat across from him and placed our glasses on the table. “Grandmother runs the family, and she deemed me worthless early on. Most of the family resources were dumped on my cousins.”

“I’ve heard your family is ruthless when it comes to their…servants. Maybe it shouldn’t surprise me that they are the same with family.” He shook his head slowly before settling back in his seat and staring up at the sky. Disappointment flickered across his face. “The Moon isn’t out.”

“Oh…” I promptly pulled my phone out of my robe’s pockets and did a quick search. “Moonrise isn’t for another twenty minutes or so.”

“I see,” he murmured, his gaze dropping to the table between us as I poured our wine.

“You can stay for it if you want,” I offered, setting the wine bottle aside. “I doubt I’m good company, though.”

Coldness glinted in his eyes. “Because I’m a ‘demon’ and you are not?”

“No. Because I’m not interesting,” I stated. “You can help yourself to a book if you’d prefer to read.”

“You…don’t think you’re interesting?”

“Nope! It’s always my family or their money that interests people. Not me.”

The Aloryi frowned at me. “Speaking of…you work at an occult shop and can afford a house like this? How?”

“Oh. My parents help me out some. When Grandmother threw me out, my dad made sure I would have a nice place to stay.” I took a sip of my wine, noting the Aloryi’s gaze wandering to my throat. “My grandmother is in charge of everything still, including finances. Dad pointed out that throwing me out and making me homeless would result in unwanted press. She ‘let’ him make sure I was comfortable and…placated.”

“She sounds like a piece of work,” he scoffed. He gracefully slid his fingers around the stem of the glass and lifted it off the table, studying the wine within. “Do you know why your grandmother is looking for the book?”

“Not for certain, but I can guess,” I replied, sitting back in my chair with one leg crossed over the other. “If the book is related to summoning Aloryi, I have to assume that my family has been using it to bind your kind. Given that there’s hundreds of recipes in there, I’m assuming just as many Aloryi were bound. Since I destroyed the book, that must have freed them all at once.”

“That wretch has been trying to summon the remainder of the noble and royal families.” He narrowed his eyes at me, his tail twitching. “She, her predecessors, and her progeny have all failed to summon us—until you. If she discovers you’re capable of summoning us and that you destroyed the only book we were bound to…”

“When she finds out,” I corrected him. “She’s the sort who always knows everything that’s going on with everyone. I’d rather not get anyone else involved in family problems. If she wants to have me killed, so be it. I’ll at least try to take out my attacker before their slave can kill me.”

“You don’t fear death?” The Aloryi shot me a doubting look.

“Of course I do. But it’s unavoidable, human lives are short, and if my grandmother decides to shorten mine further there’s no stopping her. She gets what she wants.” I sighed heavily. No one depended on me, anyway. There wasn’t much going on in my life that made me desperate to live or happy to be alive. “I’d prefer if you and Mayar didn’t put yourselves in danger because of me. You should probably both return to the Underrealm when you go.”

I could cope with the loneliness if it meant neither of them would be hurt or enslaved by my crazy grandmother.

The Aloryi snorted and made a dismissive, sweeping motion before speaking “We will do no such thing. If Mayar decides you are truly in harm’s way, he’ll bring you to the Underrealm. I won’t hear any arguments.”

I stared at him in disbelief. Why did he want to go so far to protect me? It didn’t make any sense. Though I doubted telling him that to his face was a good idea. I decided sipping my wine in silence was safer.

That seemed to suit the Aloryi just fine. I fidgeted with my glass of wine while the elegant man kept his gaze aimed toward the sky. The light pollution from the city blotted out most of the stars, yet my guest seemed fascinated by them. I felt my heart clench, and I quickly returned my gaze to my wine. Of course he was fascinated. He had been living a subterranean lifestyle of some kind for who-knew-how-long.

“Ah… It’s rising.” His voice was so low I almost missed his comment. I took a tentative peek at him again, and my breath caught. As the crescent rose over the horizon, my guest underwent a startling transformation. His hair flowed from black to solid, luminescent white. Likewise glowing markings spread across his skin, including a crescent moon on the center of his forehead. His green eyes became silver, and his sclera inky black. Even his skin took on a more unearthly silvery grey-white tone.

“You…” I didn’t know what to say, and he didn’t seem to hear me. A contented, intimate sigh left him as he nestled back in his seat, a hazy smile on his face.

“A shame the moon isn’t full.” The low purr of his voice sent a shiver through me.

I swallowed hard and set my wine aside. Clearly I’d had enough of that. “You’re welcome to come back when it’s full, if you want. Should I look up the lunar calendar?”

“So you can conspire against me?” The Aloryi turned his sharp gaze to me, causing me to flinch.

“N-no! I said what I meant!” I shied back, inexplicably hurt. Of course he would think poorly of me, with what family I came from. I bit back my tears and reined my emotions in. “You just seemed disappointed…so I thought…”

I trailed off and stared down at my lap. It was silly of me to offer. Once I relayed the message he’d come for, he’d return to the Underrealm and I probably wouldn’t see him again.

The Aloryi released another sigh, this one of reluctance. “I apologize. Trusting a human is…difficult, at best. Even when you sound so sincere.”

I remained silent. That was how I had avoided trouble with my family. Perhaps it would work with the Aloryi too. His distrust and his accusatory tone were almost too much. I wasn’t confident that I could speak up without breaking down, anyway.

“I upset you,” he commented, his voice soft. When I said nothing, he started to reach for me but stopped short. “You truly don’t mean to conspire to bind me, do you?”

I clenched my fists on my lap. “Why would I? Even if it would make me less useless, it’s still wrong.”

“You are not useless.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

‘…is a demon really trying to pep talk me?’ I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm myself. He wasn’t even who I was beginning to get mad at. I was mad at myself for having such an emotional reaction to begin with. “Maybe, who knows. If I’m good at or useful for something, I haven’t discovered it yet.”

“You freed me and many others from being enslaved,” the Aloryi pointed out. “Not many people could do that, nor would they want to. I did want to discuss that, but…”

“Then do.” I picked up my wine again. If nothing else, that little exchange had reminded me that he wasn’t human, he was out of my league, and that I should stop admiring him. My attentions were better spent on wine. Lots of wine.

“There are still Aloryi unaccounted for,” he began slowly, seeming to take his time choosing words, “I was wondering if you knew of any similar books in your family’s possession, or perhaps you noticed other oddities.”

“No,” I stated.

“‘No?’ That’s it?” He knit his brows. “That is all you will say on the matter?”

“My grandmother asked me to read a lot of things, but I don’t have magical sight, apparently,” I elaborated with a small sigh. “The family estate has a massive library and all sorts of display cases with texts, antiques, and so on. Some of the cases always looked empty to me but were always kept locked.”

“May I?” The Aloryi asked, motioning toward my eyes. When I frowned at him he continued, “I want to see if there’s anything wrong with your eyes.”

“Don’t waste your time.” I shook my head, watching his hand flinch ever-so-slightly before recoiling and returning to his armrest. “I should deliver the message for you before I turn in for the night.”

“I was hoping…” The Aloryi trailed off and gazed longingly in the direction of the Moon.

“You can return when you want. I’m not forcing you to go back early.” I crossed my arms, nearly tilting my wine too far. Crankiness had set in. I hated being emotional. I hated when pretty things that were out of reach. Furthermore… “I still don’t have a name to call you, either. I can’t keep calling you ‘the Aloryi man’ in my head forever, and I doubt ‘hey you’ is appropriate. And I refuse to call you ‘Your Majesty.’”

“Call me what you want.” He shrugged. “Names hold power for my kind. Giving away my birth name would be the end of my free will. If not because of you, then because of someone else who hears it.”

“…that’s like asking me to name you.” I stared at him in disbelief. “You don’t have a nickname or something for common use?”

He shook his head. “Most of my names could bind me to you. I won’t risk it. Just choose something you like or is easy to say. I’m too old to be particular.”

The Aloryi returned his focus to the Moon, and I sunk into deep thought. An elegant, ethereal man whose hair was pitch black during the day but turned into glowing white in the moonlight. What sort of name would fit a man like that? I wracked my brain, considering the names of celestial bodies, names from folklore, and even some mundane ones.

“Oh! I know!” I exclaimed when it hit me, a smile coming to my face. “I’ll call you Tsukiyo!”

He stiffened as if expecting something terrible to happen. When nothing did, he slowly turned to look at me with an unreadable expression. “Why…Tsukiyo?”

“After Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto, the moon deity from Japanese folklore!” I grinned, leaning forward in my seat. “Though, you didn’t kill me for my disgusting cooking, so at least you aren’t totally in line with the folklore.”

“Are you truly powerless?” Tsukiyo murmured, glancing down at his wrists and the glowing markings on them. When he looked back to me, he seemed to notice my confusion. “That is one of my names. Yet,” he pulled back one sleeve, “speaking my name did…nothing. You didn’t bind me. If you had, I would have been forced back to my other form.”

“Oh…” I tilted my head. “Huh. You don’t look very Japanese, so I thought that would be safe. Uhm…”

“What do I look like?” Tsukiyo raised an eyebrow at me.

“Uh…” I examined him for a moment. “Ambiguous, if I’m going to compare you to human ethnicities.”

Tsukiyo looked past me and toward the house. “Mayar, what do you think? Is Celia powerless?”

“David made it sound as if she has power. Perhaps her power is to break chains?” Mayar suggested.

“What if I pick something more mundane. Would that be better?” I asked, causing Tsukiyo to glance toward me again. “If calling you that is a risk…”

“I do enjoy the way you say it, and it was always one of my favorites,” he remarked rubbing his chin. “The onmyōji of ancient Japan were quite pleasant.”

“…just how old are you?” I squinted at him.

“A few thousand, give or take, little one,” Tsukiyo teased me as he crossed one leg over the other. “You may call me Tsukiyo in private. Further usage is to be decided. I need to determine just how far your breaking of bonds went.”

“The message, Celia,” Mayar reminded me, causing us both to look at him. He met his master’s eyes. “She needs sleep before work in the morning.”

“I shouldn’t keep you, then.” Tsukiyo sighed in reluctance, his eyes drifting down to the gap of my robe briefly. “What was this message?”

“‘Tell the Moon that the Sun has fallen,’” I recited, watching Tsukiyo grow still. “The…skydweller? That came to the store with one of my grandmother’s acquaintances said that to me.”

“The Sun has…” Tsukiyo shot to his feet and looked to Mayar. “Remain by Celia’s side at all times. Her grandmother has likely already heard too much from that woman.”

Tsukiyo moved to stall past me and into the house, but he stopped when I rose to my feet. I opened my mouth to question what was going on, but he slid his fingertips across my cheek and into my hairline, pressing his thumb over my lips. I just stared at him, dumbfounded by the foreign, gentle touch.

“Thank you for telling me, but you’re dangerously involved. Mayar and I will do what we can. Just…do not trust anyone, and certainly not any of your family.” Tsukiyo hesitated before releasing my face.

Before I could think of something to say he was gone.

My heart raced in my throat. I’d gone from enamored, to upset, to enamored again faster than I could process. No one had ever touched me or looked at me as tenderly as he just had. I told myself he meant nothing by it. It was probably just some cultural quirk. There was no way he saw me as a potential…anything.

After successfully beating some sense back into myself, I strode into my house and locked the door behind me. The scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, but it appeared that Tsukiyo was long gone. I double-checked all the doors and windows before retreating to my room with Mayar close behind.

“Remember to neither say or type his name to anyone else,” Mayar commented when I reached my phone, making me recoil. “If he can still be bound…”

“I get it.” I nodded. “What I don’t get…is a lot of things. Mainly, how could I have the power to render a…”

“Pact,” Mayar offered.

“Yeah, that. How could i have the power to render a single pact useless, let alone many or all?” I strode into the bathroom to brush my teeth. “I mean, for his sake I hope I can, but that seems like a lot of power for one measly human to have.”

“You are from a powerful lineage, and every power must have a counterbalance.” Mayar hopped up on my bed and stretched out. “Worrying won’t help you. Rest.”

‘Rest? How am i supposed to do that?’ I hurriedly finished getting ready for bed, then turned out the lights. “Okay. Good night, Mayar.”

“Good night, Celia.”