Page 49 of I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend

“What are you painting?” He pointed to the painting sitting in the corner of my living room, still half-finished.

“I’m not really sure,” I answered. “It’s a landscape that’s been in my head, and I’m just trying to get it out.”

“You’re really talented.”

“Years of school and working helps.” I grabbed a glass of wine from the table. “I’ve been creating since I was a child. Made my name doing independent works and showing in galleries before I started working with corporate clients. I don’t take for granted the life I’ve been able to lead because of my art. Not many can do that.”

“That’s very impressive.” He grabbed my hand and pulled it to his lips. “What wonders you do with these hands?”

“Tell me about your life.” I sat next to him on the couch and sipped a glass of wine on his fifth visit. “You already know so much about me, Metice. I want to know more about you. I know it’s limited, but tell me what you can.”

“What would you like to know?” He glanced at the movie we’d been mostly ignoring.

“Where are you originally from?”

“I’m from the Bane.” He used the true name of his world.

“I mean, I know you are now, but where did you originally come from before you became a demon?”

“I’ve always been a demon, Rayna.” He looked me in the eye.

“Oh?” His answer shocked me. “I’d always assumed there were no demons born, only made, like a punishment.”

“Human lore. Yes, it’s true, some demons are made. They live a life somewhere else, and then by forces I cannot explain to you, they are recruited to our world,” he spoke and pulled my feet into his hands. I realized it was a coping mechanism for him. Whenever the conversations got too deep, Metice would rub my feet. I had no complaints about it. “But that’s not true of every demon. We are born, some living their entire lives in the Bane.”

“How was it for you? Growing up there?” I leaned forward. “What was your family like?”

“If you want me to paint you a pretty picture of my upbringing, I can’t.” He focused on his task and kneaded the arch of my foot. The pressure felt so good, my eyes rolled back into my head. “I grew up alone mostly and had no family. But I was strong, one of the few to be born in the world for a millennium. They thought it was no longer possible for a while. Something happened, and suddenly, there were no more natural births. Demons found new ways to make life, like taking it from other worlds.”

“Shouldn’t they have treated you better than everyone else?” I asked. “Weren’t you like the golden boy?”

“Why would you think that?”

“You were born there,” I reasoned. “I’d think that would make you special when people were trying to do that. Is that why everyone is after you now?”

“That’s not how it works. Born or not, I wasn’t from a prominent family. I knew from a young age that if I wanted a good life, I would have to work my way up,” he answered. “It strengthened me. Am I more resilient? Yes. But if anything, more people resent me for it than not. In my world, I’m a minority. Things have shifted. More are being born again. It takes the edge off.”

“Did you work your way up, or find another way?” I took another sip of wine. “It didn’t seem like you were living a life of poverty. Your home is carved into the side of a mountain. On Earth, that means you have money and power.”

“Damn near to the top until I stopped.” He nodded.

“Stopped?” I asked. “Why did you stop?”

“I realized I didn’t want to be at the top. You get to a certain point, and you recognize how little it all matters. Success doesn’t mean what you think it does.” He sighed. “One day, I woke up and it hit me, I had spent centuries trying to prove myself to demons who didn’t give a damn about me. They only cared about what I could do for them, and I realized I no longer wanted to do that job. Damn the status it gave me.”

“And you still can’t tell me what that job is?”

“No, I can’t.”

“One day, you will.” I pulled my foot from his hand. “I’m your soulmate. You can’t keep the secret forever.”

“Sure,” he hesitated. “About that.”

“What?” I reached for the bottle of wine to refill my cup, but he grabbed my arm and pulled my attention back to him.

He cleared his throat before speaking. “I may be closer to finding a solution to dissolve the bond between us.”

“Oh?” I tensed and tightened my grip on the glass so much, I feared it may break.

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