I took a deep breath. “Do you mind if we take a look around?”
Favir frowned, but Nereus nodded. “Look at whatever you want.” He buried his head in his hands once more, and Kyla’s face creased with sympathy.
The house was U-shaped, with what had to be at least eight guest rooms in the west wing, along with a formal dining room and ballroom. The east wing seemed to be where Ilayda and Nereus spent most of their time, and the wooden floors were covered with rugs in soft colors, the walls decorated with whimsical paintings of gardens and forests. I peered closer at one of them, smiling as I found the hidden pixies.
“Ilayda painted this,” I murmured, spotting the signature. “She’s talented.”
We made our way to their bedroom. It felt incredibly invasive, but from the way the guards gave us beady-eyed stares, everything we did was being monitored and would be reported back.
“You notice how Favir wouldn’t say her name?” Kyla muttered as soon as we were out of earshot of the closest guard.
“Distancing himself from her,” I said under my breath. “Something is going on there.”
I gazed around the bedroom. It was large and spacious, but they’d focused on comfort here, with muted colors, fluffy rugs, padded armchairs, and French doors leading to a balcony that looked down onto their gardens.
I could picture Ilayda here. Could practically see her sitting on the wide sofa in front of the fire. Could imagine her smiling as she planned her life with Nereus.
Three days. She’d been gone for three days now. A woman was at her most vulnerable while pregnant, and the fact that Nereus hadn’t received a ransom demand…
No. Until I saw a body, I refused to believe she was dead. Evie rummaged through Ilayda’s closet, while Kyla took the bathroom. I strode into the connecting office and smiled. From what I’d seen of her paintings, this room was all Ilayda.
The walls were a soft lavender, the desk painted a creamy blue. She’d indulged in more art here, but I was mostly interested in her computer.
Her phone hadn’t been found at the scene. But my power itched to examine her desktop and see if there were any hints as to who might have taken her.
I started it up and inhaled, slowly exhaling as I cleared my mind. Then I got to work.
“Mere? Kyla? You need to see this.”
I frowned at the computer. Nothing. In fact, I would’ve thought it had been wiped if I wasn’t able to check that myself. The desktop struck me as almost decorative—she’d browsed a few fae fashion blogs, and that was it.
I made my way back to the closet. Evie’s expression was grim, and she waved a hand at the small suitcase in front of her.
“This was with the rest of her luggage.”
“Uh-oh.” The luggage was packed, and Evie began riffling through it as Kyla and I watched.
“We have activewear, nursing bras, bottles, baby clothes, swaddles, and a few books about labor and delivery. Oh, and this.” She held up a gun, and I raised an eyebrow. Ilayda knew her power was fluctuating, and even though she’d had a team of guards on her, she’d bought a gun. Why? And why hide it?
“This is a bug-out bag,” Kyla said. Her eerie blue eyes somehow lightened even more, as if she was close to turning wolf. “I had one of these myself when I was planning to leave my ex. That was before he turned me into a wolf and I killed him.” She smiled, and I was torn between a laugh and a wince.
Evie nodded solemnly. “So…why would a woman who was planning a future with the father of her baby need a bug-out bag? What was she afraid of?Whowas she afraid of? And why?”
“And why didn’t the cops find this when they were searching?” I asked.
From the fury on Evie’s face, she was thinking the exact same thing.
“I’m going to call Nelson,” she said. She put her phone on speaker, and we all shut up as it rang. “We found a bug-out bag,” Evie said when Nelson answered.
“A what?”
I leaned closer to the phone and listed everything we’d found in the suitcase. “You guys seriously didn’t find it?”
He went very quiet. “Roberts searched that room. I’ll be right back.” Hold music played, and Kyla watched the phone as if it were prey.
The music stopped. “Hello?”
“We’re here,” Evie said. “What did Roberts say?”
