If someone told me last week that I'd have a demon queen sitting on my bed, glaring at me like I'd stolen her favorite soul crystal, I would've laughed and gone back to microwaving instant ramen.
But here we are.
Her eyes—crimson like molten glass—watched me with the kind of intensity you'd expect from someone who could erase you from existence with a sneeze. Black horns curved elegantly from her forehead, her hair fell like midnight silk, and her wings—oh, those wings—were spread wide enough to make my tiny apartment feel like a coffin.
"So," she said, her voice smooth and heavy, dripping with some kind of dangerous sweetness. "You're the one who summoned me?"
I swallowed hard, clutching the torn notebook that had apparently ruined my life. "Uh. Define summon."
Her wings twitched. "You performed the Rite of Binding. You spoke my True Name. You dragged me from the Nether Abyss and forced me into this—" she gestured around the cramped room with disgust "—pathetic mortal den."
I blinked. "Okay, in my defense, I thought it was a D&D spell."
The demon queen tilted her head, one perfect brow arching. "D… and… D?"
"Never mind." I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Look, I didn't mean to summon anyone. I just found this weird old book at the thrift store and thought the spell looked cool. I was bored."
Her eyes narrowed. "You performed a soul-binding ritual because you were bored?"
When she said it like that, I sounded like the biggest idiot alive.
"Yup," I muttered. "That's about right."
For a moment, she said nothing. Then, to my utter horror, she laughed. It wasn't the evil, echoing laughter you'd expect from a demon queen—it was rich and musical, the kind that sent shivers down your spine for all the wrong reasons.
"Oh, mortal," she said, smiling now, and somehow that was worse than the glare. "You amuse me. What is your name?"
"Riku," I said automatically. "Uh, just Riku."
"Riku." She rolled my name on her tongue like it was a foreign delicacy. "You have bound me, Riku. That makes you my summoner… and my master."
I choked. "Wait, wait—master? No, no, I don't want that responsibility! Can we undo it?"
She smirked. "Once the Rite is complete, the bond cannot be broken until one of us dies."
I froze. "You're kidding."
"Do I look like I jest?"
Honestly? She didn't.
By the time I'd processed that my life was now tied to a literal demon queen, she'd already made herself comfortable—meaning she'd taken over my bed and was examining my phone like it was some kind of sacred artifact.
"This 'device'," she said, turning it over, "shows moving pictures of cats?"
"Yeah," I said, still trying to keep my brain from melting. "Internet videos. People upload them for fun."
"Humans are stranger than I imagined."
"Yeah, well," I muttered, "we're not the ones who show up uninvited in someone's bedroom."
That earned me a lazy smirk. "Uninvited? You summoned me, remember? In fact, you owe me recompense for the inconvenience."
"Recompense?"
"I require sustenance," she said, stretching like a cat. "And a bath. And perhaps—" her eyes glimmered mischievously—"a suitable offering of worship from my new master."
I nearly dropped my phone. "I—I don't even know what that means!"
Her smile turned wicked. "Oh, I think you do."
My brain short-circuited for a moment. This was bad. Very bad
After a chaotic few hours and me explaining what "ramen" was, she finally settled down enough to tell me her name: Lilithra, Queen of the Seventh Abyss. Apparently, she'd ruled over legions of infernal knights, devoured the souls of kings, and commanded storms of blood.
Now she was sitting in my kitchen, slurping noodles and watching tv.
"I like this Damien," she said between bites. "He has the heart of a demon."
"That's… one way to put it."
I slumped into the chair across from her, wondering if this was some elaborate dream. The smell of cheap instant noodles mixed with her faint, intoxicating scent—something like smoke and roses.
"So," I said carefully, "what happens now? You're… stuck here?"
She nodded. "Until the bond dissolves—or until my power is restored. This world's magic is thin. I cannot return without your aid."
"And you expect me to help?"
"You're my summoner," she said simply, as if that explained everything. "Our souls are intertwined. If you perish, I perish. Therefore, I have a vested interest in keeping you alive."
"Wow. Romantic."
Her lips curved. "If you desire romance, mortal, you need only ask."
"Not what I meant!"
She laughed again, softer this time, and something about it made my chest feel weirdly tight.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Partly because there was a demon queen humming softly beside me in my bed (apparently "a ruler does not sleep on the floor"), and partly because every time I closed my eyes, I remembered the look in hers—ancient, weary, but also… curious.
When I finally spoke, it came out in a whisper. "Why me?"
She didn't answer for a long moment. Then, quietly: "Perhaps fate grows bored too."
The next morning was somehow worse.
I woke up to find Lilithra standing in front of my closet wearing one of my shirts—and only my shirt.
"This garment is insufficient," she said flatly. "I require proper raiment if I am to walk among your kind."
I buried my face in my hands. "We'll go shopping later, okay?"
"Shopping?"
"Yeah. Clothes. Food. Maybe a new life for me, since mine's officially over."
She smiled faintly. "Don't be so dramatic, Riku. Your life has only just begun."
And somehow, I believed her.
As she examined the city from my apartment window—neon lights reflecting in her crimson eyes—I realized something terrifying.
The world outside didn't know that a demon queen had crossed over.
And I didn't know how long I could keep her existence a secret.
But as she turned to me, her smile both regal and strangely human, I also realized something else.
Maybe—just maybe—this wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to me.
Because for the first time in years, my heart was racing for something other than fear or exhaustion.
And as Lilithra leaned closer, her voice low and teasing—
"Tell me, Riku," she whispered. "How many other demons did you plan to summon?"
My throat went dry. "Uh… none?"
Her grin widened, dangerous and beautiful. "Good. Because next time, I won't share."
To be continued...