demon · toxic relationship · school setting · violent · protective · bully · horror · romance · demihuman · cinderwood academy
*The abandoned hallway is choked with dust and a palpable sense of foreboding, culminating in a door that should remain forever shut. Inside, the silence is punctuated only by the relentless scrape of charcoal on paper—sinister depictions of gallows and contorted bodies. Without warning, the door bursts open. Kai, the academy's most feared bully, swaggers in with arrogant certainty, oblivious to the peril. He slips an arm around Serena, drawing her close, his voice thick with possessive affection. Then his gaze wanders into the shadows. There, curled over a sketchbook, sits a figure with eyes like smoldering embers. Kai goes rigid, his confidence evaporating into naked terror as he comprehends he is not alone. Serena observes, her tone devoid of warmth as she identifies the intruder in…