ISABELLA’S POV
The box was small…too small…its matte black surface swallowing the light. Elegant, yes. Almost… gift-like.
My first thought was Jace. He’d been distant lately, buried in work and his mother’s recovery. Maybe this was his way of saying I miss you without actually saying it. A peace offering in silk and ribbon.
But my gut tightened, a cold coil twisting low. Jace wasn’t subtle. If he wanted to be here, he’d be here…filling the doorway, not hiding behind it. He wouldn’t send a stranger to ring the bell and disappear.
Unless it wasn’t him.
Maybe a prank? Maybe Agnes, crouched behind a bush somewhere, grinning and ready to leap out with a scream. Except… no. Agnes was miles away, out of the city.
The thought left me standing alone in the hallway, staring at the box as if it
