Summoned

Chapter 5

"What the hell, Junie?" Maisy asked as soon as she pulled the door open. "I don't see you for one day, and suddenly you have a man?"

"I don't have a man," Junie said defensively. "This is Levi. We're friends."

The nickname slipped out easily on her tongue. She kind of liked it. It certainly wasn't a mouthful like Leviathan.

If Leviathan was at all fazed by her friend-zoning him, he did not show it. They certainly weren't a thing. They hardly knew each other.

She shook away her silly thoughts.

"Any friend of yours is a friend to us," MiMi smiled, reaching for the plate of brownies in Levi's hands. He had insisted on carrying them.

MiMi was beautiful, and the best honorary grandma Junie could ever ask for. She had long silver hair that she had braided to the side. Junie adored her.

"I have heard so much about you both," he said pleasantly. "I hope you don't mind me joining you."

"Of course not," MiMi said, ushering them in. "I'm Margaret, but these two call me MiMi."

"Why don't you have a seat, Levi?" Maisy asked, gesturing to the sofa. "We'll get you something to drink."

Leviathan nodded.

Maisy gripped Junie's arm, pulling her into the kitchen. MiMi followed closely.

"Junie, what in the world is going on?" Maisy hissed, opening and closing the cabinet to make it sound like they were actually doing something.

"Ouch," Junie mumbled, rubbing her wrist. "I have a major problem, and it's all your fault."

"My fault?" Maisy asked. "What did I do?"

"I know you are not going to believe me, but I need to tell someone," Junie said, taking a deep breath. "You two gave me that weird concoction to get rid of my headaches, and instead, it summoned a demon that I am now eternally bonded to."

MiMi laughed gleefully, clapping her hands.

Junie was confused by her reaction.

"I knew it," MiMi said, her smile never lessening. "The headaches and the dreams, I had a hunch that that was a bond trying to form."

"What?" Maisy asked, definitely shocked. "Honestly, Junie, I had no idea. A demon?"

"MiMi," Junie groaned.

"Junie, if I didn't interfere, the headaches would have gotten worse until you probably would have died," MiMi said.

"I'm not even surprised," Maisy mumbled. "Junie and I have thought you were a witch since we were kids."

"I'm not a witch, dear. I just happen to know a few things," she said.

"Well, do you know how to send him back?" Junie asked.

"Severing a soulmate bond of any kind results in death for both parties," MiMi answered, giving Junie a much more solemn smile.

Junie trusted this information a bit more coming from MiMi. Leviathan didn't mention that he would die as well.

"Why don't I get a hot soulmate?" Maisy whined, turning to the soup on the stove.

MiMi patted her back consolingly.

"Why don't we eat?" MiMi asked, pulling bowls from the cabinet to the left of the stove, and changing the conversation like it didn't even matter that they were having dinner with a demon from hell.

Junie's head was spinning. Even though she was validated, everything felt wrong. She was supposed to be with Leviathan forever and she had no choice in the matter, unless she preferred death.

"What did you do before Junie summoned you?" Maisy asked curiously. "I thought demons were evil inhuman creatures."

"I controlled the seas and its creatures for the longest time," he answered. Junie looked at him, realizing just how rehearsed that sounded.

"I think Junie deserves honesty," MiMi said, taking a biscuit from the basket. "You can't build trust on lies and deception."

Leviathan caught her eye. "I ruled hell with my brothers for almost all of my life. I'm sure you can imagine the monstrous things that we did."

"What changed?" Maisy asked.

"I knew as soon as Junie was born that she was my soulmate. I could feel her. I thought, if I was one of the few demons lucky enough to have a soulmate then I should change my ways, even if I never got to meet her."

Maisy awwed.

Junie stood abruptly, excusing herself. She went down the hall to the spare bedroom. She hated this. She hated this pre-planned destiny.

There was a knock, and she really hoped it wasn't Leviathan.

Maisy poked her head in.

"This is crazy," Junie said. "I thought that you would be on my side."

Maisy sat next to her on the bed, folding her legs. "What side is that?"

"I only brought him here because I needed help. The two of you are getting to know him like he is sticking around."

"MiMi said that you would die otherwise," Maisy whispered. "Junie, this is the first time in weeks where you don't look ill."

"Levi told me the same thing, about death from severing the bond," Junie whispered. "To be stuck with someone forever, it just - it feels so final."

"You're not stuck," Maisy said back, just as softly. "This doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"What am I supposed to do?" Junie said, feeling the pressure of tears behind her eyes. She was overwhelmed and scared. Forever was just so permanent.

"Don't cry," Maisy soothed. "I hate seeing you upset. It's going to be okay. I promise."

"I don't know if anything he is saying is true. He's in my home. He could really hurt me if he wanted to. And if he does, there's no escape," Junie sobbed.

It felt really good to get that off of her chest.

Maisy reached for her, wrapping her arms around her.

"MiMi and I have your back. Just take this one step at a time," Maisy said, taking her sleeve to dry Junie's tears.

"I have read plenty of romance novels to know exactly how this is going to go," Maisy teased.

Junie chuckled, sniffling slightly.

"You have every right to be upset," Maisy added. "But don't let fear stop you from allowing yourself to have a good thing."

Junie nodded. "It changes everything."

"It doesn't have to. You're still in control of your life. You've just skipped a few steps."

Junie rubbed her eyes, trying to dry her tears. She had no choice but to figure this out.