Another dark fae stood next to the sofa, his expression somber. Nereus introduced him as Hefeydd.
Nereus raised his head. “What have you found so far?”
Evie filled him in, and he closed his eyes.
Hefeydd frowned. “Pleatix is witch magic. So it wasn’t just humans who were behind this.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t look like it. I know you’ve both probably answered this question a million times, but do you know anyone who could have wanted to hurt Ilayda? Anyone at all?”
Nereus shook his head. “We have no enemies. At first, I thought it was due to my work—I occasionally advise our king. But there has been no demand for money or information…” His voice trailed off.
Evie leaned on the side of an armchair. “Did she ever mention anyone who seemed a little too interested in the baby?”
He closed his eyes. “No. It’s unusual, of course. There aren’t many dark and light fae choosing to spend their lives together. Our baby will have a unique mixture of the strengths and weaknesses of both.”
Kyla took a step closer. “You can’t speak mind-to-mind with Ilayda?”
An expression of such guilt and grief crossed Nereus’s face that even the werewolf winced.
“I didn’t mate with her. I thought it would make her a target. Ironic, really. It’s the one thing we always fight about. Because of my inflexibility, I can’t mind-speak with her.”
“Have you ever heard anyone disparage your relationship?” I asked.
He was quiet for a long moment. “Before the war…before the seelie king allied with Lucifer, people said we were progressive. More and more paranormals were using that app…”
“Portal,” Evie said, and he nodded.
“And then my king declared war on Ilayda’s king.”
“That can’t have been easy.”
“No. Ilayda wanted us to return to her realm. Wanted to have the baby there. I was fine with that, I just wanted her and the baby to be healthy. But there was business I had to complete here first. I thought the guards… I trusted them to keep her safe…”
When someone disappeared, you usually looked at the spouse. I’d watched enough crime shows to know that much. But I also knew people. And Nereus’s reaction rang true to me.
Evie’s eyes gleamed with sympathy. “One of the bodyguards was shot. Another used his power on the attackers without warding. Do you know why he would’ve done that?”
Nereus swallowed, closing his eyes. “They were carefully selected to work as a team. If it was Rainier who didn’t ward, it was likely because he wasn’t used to doing it. He was trained for combat, and he would only ever have been sent out in a team with at least one high-level warder.”
Another dark fae male entered the room. “Do you have everything you need?”
I studied him as Nereus introduced him as Favir. His long, night-black hair was in a French braid, and he wore breeches and riding boots, as if he’d rather be on horseback. He seemed to be one of Nereus’s underlings—a cross between a secretary and an adviser.
“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?” Evie asked him.
Favir shook his head. “No. The day she disappeared was a day like any other. I can’t imagine why this would have happened.”
“What about before the day of the kidnapping? Anyone acting suspicious?”
“We had a team of guards on her. They would have alerted us to any threats.”
I glanced at Kyla. She met my eyes and then watched Favir for a long moment. From the look on her face, we were in agreement.
We’d be looking into Favir.
Nereus shoved his long dark hair behind one pointed ear and looked around the living room blindly, as if still expecting his mate to walk in at any moment.
We weren’t going to get anything else out of him right now.
