The drawers were empty.
Evangeline swept her hands through the hidden compartments of the mahogany desk, past velvet pouches, shattered crystals, and dusty, forgotten ledgers, but her fingertips met nothing but cold, vacant wood. She opened the small side cabinet, her breath tightening in her chest as she carefully sifted through the dark relics within.
Nothing. Not a trace of the white stone key.
"It isn't here..." she whispered under her breath, a knot of frustration tightening in her throat.
"Looking for something, my sweet little niece?"
Evangeline's posture instantly froze. She didn't draw her blade, but the air in the room plunged into a sudden, suffocating chill. She slowly turned her head toward the doorway.
