Page 14 of My Demon Teacher

“You think a silly little protection spell will help you?” Ryan pushes me, and I fall to the ground.

The eldritch creature crushes against the protection with a thud that bounces and reverberates through me.

“You’re such an idiot.” Ryan shakes his head and tries to leave the circle of protection.

“Lucian, fire, now!” I shout.

This time, he doesn’t stall. The fire wraps around the spell, encompassing the entire thing, not leaving space for Ryan to exit.

The spell is very similar to what Kevin used against me and Lucian. Only his was supposed to trap someone inside the circle whereas the necklace spell we sell at the apothecary is supposed to protect from outside forces. If it wasn’t for the fire surrounding us, nothing would stop Ryan from going out. But now, he’s mine.

“You can’t stop me, Taylor. And neither can that demon friend of yours.”

I bite my tongue at the “friend” comment. Lucian is so much more than that, but this dickbag doesn’t need to know that. He doesn’t need to know anything about me.

Except for one thing!

“My name is fucking Jung, you shithead!” I shout, jump across the circle, grab his hand, and bite down.

I may not be strong or powerful, but neither is Ryan. He was foolish enough to enslave the eldritch creature but not smart enough to trap it inside him. If he had, he may be invincible. As it stands, he’s not.

Ryan yelps and flails, trying to get me off him, but I don’t let go until I taste the copper in my mouth. I don’t like the taste of it—I’m not a vampire—but this feels so damn good.

This pathetic idiot, as Ryan called me, made it work. Thought of a plan, put it into action, and succeeded. There’s only one more step to stop this asshole.

He shoves me, and I fall back, watching him hiss while inspecting his bleeding bite wound.

“What the fuck did you do to me? You’re an animal. A fucking animal!” he shouts, but I’m already standing, book in hand.

I have no idea if the pronunciation is right, but magic is more about intention than accuracy. If it was about pronunciation, none of the spells would ever work.

Ryan rushes to me. He grabs the book. He tries to stop me. But it’s already too late.

The ethereal red ribbons that bind him to the creature reappear, connecting Ryan and the creature for a second or two. Then they snap, and both of them collapse on the floor screaming.

“What did you do? What did you do?” Ryan screams his head off.

Lucian approaches the spell of protection that’s already wavering and puts the fire out. I attempt to hug him, but he holds me at arm’s length and inspects my body.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His eyes linger on my bloodied mouth before moving to my slashed arms.

I nod.

Why won’t he let me hug him? Is he embarrassed by me? Or is he just trying to make sure I’m fine? Why do I care? Why do I care right now? I almost died tonight, and this is what I care about? What is wrong with me?

“I’m okay. Tha-thank you for coming to my rescue.”

“I’ll always be there for you, Yu-jin. You know that,” he whispers and glances behind me.

But do I, really?

I know he said he wants to hide our relationship so he can keep abreast of any threats to me, but here we are after one threat is eliminated. Surely, this warrants a little kiss or a hug. Definitely a hug.

I bite the inside of my cheek and look back at Ryan, who’s still kneeling on the floor, crying in pain.

Lucian walks past me toward him and stops a few short inches from the student.

“You’re lucky I can’t hurt students, Mr. Byron. If my contract with the school didn’t bind me in such a way, you’d be dead now…”

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