Aurora’s POV
“He doesn’t have the key.”
Sebastian says it the second the call ends. I look at him. “What?” “The box.” His eyes drop to my hand. “He stole the box and left you the key. That means he can’t open it without you.” For one sharp second, everything in my chest goes still.
Then it clicks. The photo. The note. The clue under the drawer. Damien knows exactly what I found. He didn’t leave me an answer; he left me bait. My fingers close tighter around the small brass key. “He wants me to come to him.”
“Yes.”
“And if I do, he gets what’s inside.”
Sebastian gives one short nod. “Which means whatever is in that box matters more than the box itself.” I hate how clean that sounds. How obvious it feels now that he says it out loud. “Then we go to him first,” I say. “No.”
The answer c
