The Man in the Kitchen.

Evelyn suddenly woke up because someone was making noise downstairs.

At first, she ignored it.

She was half asleep, buried beneath her blanket, and completely unwilling to participate in whatever problem the universe had decided to throw at her next.

Then something clattered. Evelyn's eyes opened once again. She stared at the ceiling.

Silence.

She waited but nothing happened. She closed her eyes again.

Its probably Mom.

Another sound. This time, unmistakably louder. A cupboard opening. Evelyn sat up. Her heart began beating faster.

Her mother was asleep. She knew that cause she always went to bed before midnight.

The clock strikes 3:00 a.m.

Evelyn reached for her phone. She unlocked it. There was no notifications. No messages. Nothing.

Then she heard a man's voice.

"Do humans seriously keep this much food in one house?"

Evelyn froze. That was not her mother's voice. She slowly lowered the phone. For several seconds, she simply stared at the bedroom door.

There was a man downstairs.

In her house.

At three in the morning.

Evelyn's first thought was that she should call the police.

Her second thought was that she should probably check whether her mother was okay.

Her third thought was:

Why would an intruder be talking about food?

Another sound came from downstairs. A cupboard closing. Evelyn got out of bed.

She looked around for something she could use as a weapon. Her eyes landed on her desk.

Her hairbrush seems to be the perfect weapon that time.

She grabbed it and stared at it.

"This is pathetic."

But it was better than nothing.

Evelyn quietly opened her bedroom door. The hallway was dark.

She stepped outside.

One foot.

Then another.

Every creak of the floor sounded impossibly loud. She reached the stairs. Then stopped and listened.

Nothing is heard at first.

Then...

"Expired bread."

The man's voice drifted up from below.

"Who keeps expired bread?"

Evelyn's eyebrows pulled together.

What kind of burglar complains about the food?

She slowly descended the stairs. Halfway down, she could see the kitchen. A figure stood in front of the open refrigerator.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Dark hair.

Bare feet.

He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

He looked completely comfortable. Like he belonged there.

Evelyn stared.

The stranger pulled something from the refrigerator. He examined it. Made a face and put it back. Then reached for something else.

Evelyn's mouth fell open.

"Excuse me?"

The man stopped. Slowly, he turned around. Their eyes met and Evelyn forgot how to breathe for few seconds.

He was...Annoyingly handsome.

There was no other way to describe it.

Dark hair falling slightly over his forehead with sharp features. A straight nose and a very noticeable faint scar near his eyebrow. His eyes so dark they almost looked black in the dim kitchen light.

He looked like someone who had stepped directly out of a painting designed specifically to make women make terrible decisions.

Evelyn immediately hated that thought. This was not the time to appreciate someone's face. There was a stranger in her kitchen.

A strange, extremely attractive one. Who was eating her food.

The man looked at the hairbrush in her hand. Then back at her. His eyebrow lifted.

"That?"

Evelyn tightened her grip. "Don't move."

He glanced at the hairbrush again.

"I wasn't planning to."

"Who are you?"

"Hungry."

"What?"

He looked back into the refrigerator.

"I said I'm hungry."

"That is not an answer!"

He sighed.

"You humans ask a lot of questions."

"You broke into my house!"

"I didn't break in."

"You're standing in my kitchen at two in the morning!"

"Yes."

"So you broke in!"

"No."

"Then how did you get here?"

The man closed the refrigerator.

"You called me."

Evelyn stared at him.

"I did not."

"Yes, you did."

"I absolutely did not."

The man looked amused.

"You don't remember?"

"No!"

"Interesting."

He leaned against the kitchen counter.

Evelyn remained halfway up the stairs.

"I'm calling the police."

"You can."

His calmness irritated her.

"What's your name?"

The man looked at her.

"Lucian."

"Lucian what?"

He paused. Then smiled.

"Da'vil."

Evelyn blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"That sounds fake."

"It isn't."

"It sounds like a stage name."

"That's unfortunate."

Evelyn lowered the hairbrush slightly.

"Are you drunk? Maybe you lost your way to your house."

"No."

"High?"

"No."

"Then you're insane."

"Possibly."

He said it so casually that Evelyn didn't know what to do with the answer. She raised the hairbrush again.

"I'm warning you."

Lucian looked at the brush.

"You've mentioned that."

"I mean it."

"I believe you."

"Then leave."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because you summoned me."

Evelyn stared at him.

The words from the ritual suddenly came back.

Speak Your Wish.

Her stomach dropped.

"No."

Lucian's expression changed slightly.

"What?"

"No."

She stepped backward.

"You're not..."

She couldn't finish the sentence. Lucian watched her carefully. Then he said the word for her.

"A guardian?"

Evelyn's face went pale.

"How do you know?"

"Because that's what you asked for."

She shook her head.

"This isn't real."

"Unfortunately for you, it is."

"You're an angel?"

"What? No."

The answer was immediate. Evelyn stared at him.

"Then what are you?"

Lucian smiled. His teeth looked perfectly normal. That somehow made it worse.

"A demon."

Silence.

Evelyn blinked. Then laughed. It was a short, nervous sound.

"Okay."

Lucian waited.

"Very funny."

He didn't move. Evelyn's smile slowly disappeared.

"You're serious?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Evelyn Hart."

"Stop saying my name!"

"You're the one who summoned me."

"I thought I was summoning an angel!"

Lucian tilted his head.

"Did you?"

"Yes!"

"That's interesting."

"What is?"

"The ritual you performed has never summoned an angel before."

Evelyn's stomach twisted. She remembered the black paper. That eye symbol. The blood she used. And she very much remembered her wish as well.

"How can I summon a demon?"

Lucian looked at her.

"Just like you summoned me."

"Why you? I asked for an Angel."

"Perhaps."

"That's not what you are."

"Correct."

"Then why are you here?"

Lucian pushed away from the counter. He took one slow step toward her. Evelyn immediately stepped backward.

He stopped.

His expression softened slightly.

"I can leave."

Evelyn stared at him.

"You can?"

"Yes."

"Then leave."

Lucian smiled.

"But you don't want me to."

Evelyn frowned.

"Yes, I do."

"No."

"I do."

"You're lying."

"I am not."

Lucian's eyes flickered toward her wrist. Evelyn followed his gaze.

That same mark.

The dark eye she'd seen before. It was there again. Except this time it was darker and more defined. Almost like ink beneath her skin.

Evelyn touched it. Lucian's expression became unreadable.

"Where did you get that?"

"I don't know."

"Who gave it to you?"

"Nobody."

"When did it appear?"

"A few days ago."

Lucian went completely still. He didn't look amused. He looked concerned.

Genuinely concerned. His eyes remained fixed on the mark.

"That's not possible."

"What isn't?"

He finally looked at her.

"That mark shouldn't be on you."

Evelyn swallowed.

"Why?"

Lucian didn't answer. Instead, he walked past her toward the stairs. Evelyn spun around.

"Where are you going?"

"To look at something."

"What?"

"In your bedroom."

Evelyn grabbed his arm. Lucian stopped. She immediately let go.

"Don't go upstairs!"

He looked at her hand. Then at her.

"Why?"

"Because that's my bedroom!"

"I assumed."

"You can't just walk into people's bedrooms! And also my mom is alseep, she will wake up."

Lucian stared at her for a moment.

Then, very seriously, said:

"Fine."

Evelyn relaxed. He turned back toward the kitchen.

"I'll wait until you're asleep."

"That's worse!"

Lucian laughed. It was the first time she'd heard him genuinely laugh.

And somehow, despite everything...It sounded warm. Like an actual human.

Evelyn hated that.

She hated that he didn't look like a monster.

She hated that he didn't sound like one either.

She hated that a tiny part of her felt safer now that he was standing there.

Because demons weren't supposed to make you feel safe.

Especially not handsome ones.

Lucian walked back toward the counter.

"You should sleep."

"I cannot sleep when there is a freaking demon in my kitchen."

"You invited me."

"I did not invite a demon!"

"You asked for a guardian."

"An angel!"

"You were vague."

Evelyn stared at him.

"You're telling me the universe has customer service issues?"

Lucian's mouth twitched.

"Something like that."

She crossed her arms.

"What happens now?"

"Now?"

"Yes."

Lucian looked at her.

"You wanted someone to protect you."

"Yes."

"I can do that."

"How?"

"I stay with you."

"For how long?"

Lucian's smile returned.

"As long as you live."

Evelyn's stomach dropped.

"That sounds..."

"Romantic?"

"Threatening, i meant."

"Both, perhaps."

She narrowed her eyes.

"And what do you want?"

Lucian's expression changed. There it was. The first hint of something darker.

"Everything has a price, Evelyn."

She swallowed.

"I thought you said the ritual was free."

"I didn't."

"The woman did."

"What woman?"

Evelyn hesitated.

"The tarot reader."

Lucian's face went still.

"What tarot reader?"

Evelyn frowned.

"The woman who gave me the ritual."

"Where?"

"A shop."

Lucian's eyes darkened.

"What did she look like?"

"Old. White hair. Black clothes. Silver rings."

He said nothing and looked toward the window. For a moment, something unreadable crossed his face. Then he looked back at Evelyn.

"You shouldn't have gone there."

Evelyn's stomach tightened.

"You know her?"

Lucian didn't answer.

She stepped closer.

"You know her."

He looked at her.

"Yes."

The word was quiet. Evelyn waited for an explanation.

"How?"

Lucian's gaze dropped to the mark on her wrist.

"That's a conversation for another night."

"Why?"

"Because you have no idea what you've done."

Evelyn's heart began pounding.

"What did I do?"

Lucian smiled. But this time, there was nothing warm about it.

"You opened a door."

The kitchen suddenly felt colder. Evelyn looked toward the dark hallway.

"What kind of door?"

Lucian's eyes met hers.

"One that was never meant to be opened."

And somewhere upstairs, inside the locked drawer beside Evelyn's bed...the blackened paper slowly unfolded itself.

The eye that had disappeared from its surface was back. But this time, it wasn't empty.

A single red line had appeared in its center.

Like an eye beginning to open.