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She continued caressing until he had to look away. He made a disapproving sound.
“Be careful. Those sculptures are hundreds of years old, made when our kind still didn’t know much about the other creatures.”
“It’s crazy how the world has changed, isn’t it?” A small smile played on her lips, directed his way. Then it dropped as if she had just realized who she was interacting with. Pearl perused his stern expression and nodded. “So, theft. What went missing?”
He enumerated the items, but she was only scandalized when he mentioned the missing vampire sculpture.
“No trail?” she asked.
“None. We have magical traps but they were all bypassed. The detectors around the manor and our general property did not detect any unusual activities, even during the suspected times that the theft happened.”
“Video cameras? Actual guards?”
“Video cameras acquired from the human world showed nothing. We have magical cameras, too, but the one closest to the throne room blurs all the time. I have been tinkering with it. We posted some guards but they also didn’t see anything.”
She scoffed. “Not even a large ass sculpture being dragged out of here?”
“Believe it or not, no. They didn’t see anything. They also underwent our truth room, to make sure they were telling the truth.”
“Then it has to be an inside job.”
At that, his entire body went rigid. “We’re the Lyras. No one would dare.”
“The temptation of wealth and power turns people daring,” she countered. “And the Lyras are chockfull of that. Someone’s bound to get jealous.”
“The Lyras all get along and we have equal wealth. Our hierarchy of power is traditional and we were all raised to acknowledge and respect that. Besides, two things prove your theory wrong.”
“Oh?”
“Every family member in our clan underwent the truth room. And if they wanted to steal for wealth, they would have stolen our most valuable items, not a random list that includes a fancy teapot set that my great-grandmother gifted to my great-grandfather. It wasn’t that expensive.”
She pursed her lips, then reluctantly nodded. “Point taken.”
“Are we done with the family accusations?”
She saluted him and he narrowed his gaze. “I’m done with that. So, it’s not an inside job and it’s not a regular person. Portals?”
“We follow the island’s rules. Portals can’t be made inside our property.”
“I see.”
The tone of her voice signaled that she did see, except he wasn’t seeing what she was seeing. Mystified, Henry watched her.
“How many attempts this month?” she asked.
“Four.”
“How many successful?”
“Four.”
Her eyes widened. “It’s so…random.”
“It’s annoying,” he corrected.
“It’s amusing.”
“My family doesn’t find it so. Neither do I.” When she glanced at him warily, he lifted his chin. “Normally we wouldn’t ask for help from an outsider and wouldn’t reveal this to anyone, but…”
