Ella’s POV
The scream tore out of me before I even knew I was making a sound.
Remo moved faster than I could track. One moment the shadow lunged, and the next he collided with it mid-air, driving the cloaked figure across the chamber in a snarl of teeth and muscle. They slammed into a shelf, ancient tomes bursting into the air like wings of dust.
The thing didn’t cry out.
It hissed.
Low and cold and wrong.
Remo slashed with his blade, and it dodged—inhumanly fast. It twisted out of his grip and vanished into the shadows, flickering like a phantom.
I stumbled backward, heart hammering in my throat, hand clutching the book with my name like it was the only thing tethering me to the floor.
“Behind you!” I shouted.
Remo spun just in time, catching the figure by the arm before it plung
