The fae representative’s building had been decorated in gold and whites, with the kind of thick, lush carpet that screamed wealth. Adelina and I ignored each other as I strode through the small waiting area and past her marble counter, heading toward Mariam’s office.

A group of pixies flitted by, their voices so high pitched I held back a wince as they gossiped amongst themselves.

Mariam was waiting in her office for me, and she nodded as I stepped inside.

“Good morning.”

“Hi. Where did you keep the amulet?”

She gave me a look, but I didn’t exactly have time to be polite. Today, I needed to go talk to the kids, follow up with Steve, and go to the stupid ball with Samael. I also needed to go through Gary’s schedule in the weeks leading up to his attack.

Mariam got to her feet. She wore a white dress that I would’ve spilled something on within five minutes, and her feet were clad in gold stilettos that perfectly matched the gold accents in the wallpaper.

She crossed the office, opening a cupboard next to the wall with the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the cupboard was a safe.

I cracked my shields down and stared at the fae.

“Where’s the ward?”

A muscle twitched next to her eye before she could hide it. She must be very upset if she’d let her glamor slip. “This safe wasn’t warded.”

“I’m sorry, I must’ve misheard you. You can’t have told me that you had no ward on the ancient fae artifact which was created by a god.”

She glowered at me and turned away. After a few moments of pacing back and forth, she threw up her hands. “I should’ve warded it,” she admitted. “But this is one of the most secure buildings in Durham. No one knew the amulet was here. And this office is monitored at all times.”

All signs were pointing towards her assistant being involved. The only problem? Fae couldn’t lie, and I’d made sure to ask her yes or no questions. Adelina hadn’t expected the amulet to go missing.

I turned to the safe. I could crack it in about fifteen minutes, and my safe-breaking skills were rusty as hell. If someone knew the amulet was here, they could’ve snuck in at any time.

Half an hour later, I stalked out of Mariam’s office. Then I paused, my gaze going to the pixies who were sitting on one of the tables in the seating area, their tiny legs hanging over the edge.

I crouched in front of them. “Hi.”

The pixie closest to me flapped incandescent wings, her magenta eyes taking me in. “You’re investigating the missing amulet.”

“I am. Can you guys tell me anything?”

They all shook their heads. A sudden thought occurred to me and I smiled at them. “Do you work here?”