“Hmmm.” Valencourt studied Sage. “Impressive.”
“We didn’t know it led to the treasure,” Landyn said earnestly. “There are others who have the same directions. I’m afraid they are not far behind us. They can’t be allowed to get it.”
Valencourt nodded. “They won’t.” He placed a heavy hand on Landyn’s shoulder. His focus moved across the room from person to person. “Can they be trusted?” He fixed his intense stare on Marcus. “All of them?”
Marcus bowed his head and looked away. Sage stepped closer to him and delicately touched her hand to his arm in a gesture of sympathy and support.
“Excuse my manners,” Landyn said. “This is Christian Sterling. And you know Marcus de Nogaret.”
Valencourt’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Landyn continued, “And these are the Hawke sisters, Raven, Sage, and Willow.”
Willow gave a little wave with a slight smile on her face.
Valencourt furrowed his brow and scratched his chin in thought. “Hawke? John’s girls?” When Landyn nodded, he scanned the room and added, “Where is John?”
Landyn’s eyes locked with Raven’s. His gaze was a combination of regret and sorrow, and she felt a sharp stab of anguish in her chest.
“He passed,” Landyn said. “We are here alone.”
Valencourt murmured, “I’m sorry,” he said to the women. “He was a good man. He was loyal to us.”
Raven felt regret as he spoke of her father in the past tense. She couldn’t help but recall the day she had futilely tried to save him. Her chin dropped to her chest, overwhelmed by emotions she wasn’t prepared for.
Willow advanced to Raven’s side, her expression filled with empathy.
“He will be missed,” Valencourt said.
Sage shifted uneasily and changed the subject. “This book we were following, the code I broke, the directions. Who wrote it? Who led us here?”
“I have no idea.” Valencourt narrowed his eyes in contemplation. He paused for a moment, stroking his beard. “Hawks,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. He waved at one of the guards behind him, and the man quickly stepped out of the room. Valencourt’s expression shifted from thoughtful to determined as he added, “There is one box in the treasure room that might offer us some answers.”
“The one with the hawk on it!” Willow exclaimed excitedly.
Valencourt smiled and nodded. “It’s been locked since the day I arrived. We don’t have the key, and we decided it would be unwise to try and force it open. Some of these treasures were meant to stay hidden.” His voice dropped to a near murmur as if he were sharing a secret.
Raven’s hand closed around the key at her neck, and a wave of uncertainty mixed with exhilaration flooded her body. “I have a key,” she said softly. “It was Father’s.” Raven had always scoffed at tales of fate and prophecy, but something felt different this time. It was almost as if something was leading her toward the box. The book, the decoding, the book of maps—it was all so perfect, almost too perfect. What if her father’s key opened the box?
The guard returned, holding the black box in his hands. He stepped forward and placed it gently in Valencourt’s outstretched hands.
“You see the animal on the top?” Valencourt asked them.
Landyn nodded. “A hawk.”
Raven straightened her back, her eyes wide and curious as she hurried to his side. She glanced at Willow and Sage, who stood on either side of her, Christian and Marcus just behind them. Willow lightly traced the outline of the hawk carved into the top of the box. In the flickering light from the torch, the hawk appeared alive.
Raven lifted the cord over her head. She palmed the key and met Valencourt’s gaze. He nodded permission.
Tingles of excitement and pensiveness raced across her arms. She took the key and paused, inhaling, before pressing it into the lock. As she raised her gaze to Sage’s, she could see the anticipation in her expression. Gingerly, she turned the key.
A click sounded, and the lid squeaked open a fraction.
The key had worked! Her father’s key. She eased the lid open, not certain what she expected to find. But it certainly wasn’t what was inside.
Row upon row of gold coins glinted in the torchlight—a small fortune.
Raven gasped, her fingers moving to cover her lips, and stared in disbelief.
