005: The Keys

ELARA'S POV 

The study door clicked open, and Lucian stepped out, leaving me alone with the impossible request: steal keys from the master thieves or lose my life from my nosiness.

Getting the key itself was not an easy task. Lucian’s instructions were clear, but the task itself was a direct violation of every moral rule Cedric ever taught me. I am not a thief. Yet, here I was, trapped between my desire for vengeance and my desperate need to protect myself.

I was supposed to be in the kitchen prepping for the evening service, but my hands were shaking too badly to chop any of the ingredients. The head chef kept giving me weird glances as I tried to dice the carrots, which slipped from my grip.

I excused myself to the staff bathroom, my mind racing. I remembered Lucian had brought out an hourglass and flipped it over which counted as time to act before his parents returned to their study.

I waited until I heard the distant sounds of the Raye family; Damian and Selene Raye, and their adopted siblings, Kael and Liora gathering in the main hall for their pre-dinner ritual. Now was the perfect time.

The study was on the main floor, heavily guarded, but Lucian said the key set would be left out. I slipped out of the kitchen and moved silently along the back corridors, relying on every survival lesson Cedric had ever taught me: stay low, use the shadows, move like water.

The door to Damian Raye's study was massive and, thankfully, unlocked. I slipped inside and closed the door almost soundlessly. The room was darker, colder, filled with the intimidating scent of cigars, wood and old leather. I immediately scanned the space, trying to make sense of my surroundings. 

The keys would be placed somewhere that seemed obvious but was actually concealed. A vase? A hidden drawer?

I located the massive vintage mahogany desk and started my search. Under the blotter. Nothing. Behind the antique inkwell. Nothing.

My breath hitched when I heard footsteps outside the study door. Kael.

Kael Raye, the older adopted brother, was a trained predator, built like a brick wall and radiating danger. He was the one I needed to avoid most. He was the muscle, the relentless tracker of the family.

I immediately darted to the nearest shadow. A deep, floor-to-ceiling curtain hiding a tall window. I flattened myself against the wall, pulling the thick velvet fabric tight around me.

The study door swung open.

"Father," Kael's deep voice rumbled. "You left your watch in here."

He walked straight toward the desk. I could hear the faint clink of metal as he picked up the watch. I held my breath, every muscle tense. He lingered, shuffling papers, likely checking to see if anything was out of place.

"This new aide, Elara," Kael muttered, his voice thoughtful. "She's too focused. I don't trust the quiet ones, they are always the most ambitious."

My blood ran cold. He already suspected me. Did Lucian know they were watching me this closely or was he in cahoots with them?

Just as I thought he was leaving, he walked toward the window. My heart hammered wildly against my ribcage; he was going to open the curtain. I braced myself to slip away and run.

But he stopped a foot away from the curtain and instead, reached down behind the heavy leather wastebasket. There was a click. He pulled out a small, vintage wooden box. The keys.

Kael opened the box, glanced inside, and then carefully placed it back behind the wastebasket.

"All clear," he murmured into a walkie-talkie before turning and leaving the room, locking the door shut behind him.

I waited a full minute, allowing my pulse to slow and my breathing to return to normal, before pushing the curtain aside.

My escape was gone. Kael had not only found the keys first but had also locked me in the study! I was trapped inside Damian Raye's fortress.

But something rang in my mind. Why did Kael come in here and checked on the key before leaving? Was this all a trap? Did he notice I was in here and was just watching my movements waiting for a slip up?

I rushed to the desk, grabbed the wooden box from behind the wastebasket, and opened it. Inside lay a single, heavy, antiquated key. The key to the third-floor safe as Lucian specified.

But as I lifted the key, a note fluttered out from beneath the silk lining of the box. It was a small piece of paper, scribbled with a bold, slanted handwriting that felt instantly familiar. It was Lucian's writing style, but rougher.

I squinted at the note in the dim light. It wasn't for me, it was clearly for the Raye parents but I doubt they had seen it yet.

"The butler knows. Silence him before the end of the week."

The butler. Cedric.

My guardian. The only family I had left. The only man who knew the whole truth of the fire.

The Raye family knew about Cedric. And they were planning to kill him. I had stolen the key, but I was locked in, and the one person I trusted was in imminent danger because of the connection I had forced.

The terror was immediate and paralyzing. They hadn't found me yet, but they were about to kill my last remaining link to a life before the fire. I had to get out quickly in order to save him.

I looked at the locked door, then down at the key in my hand. I had the means to get Lucian the secret he wanted, but I was now his prisoner, and my family was about to pay the ultimate price.

I had to get out, and I knew I couldn't save Cedric without Lucian's help, the very person who had just trapped me but the worst part of all was not knowing if Lucian would keep to his words or simply betray me.

Besides, he had the upper hand and had nothing to lose.