Drew was happy his familiar was on the same page as him.
He drifted for a short while, only to be woken sometime later by Zach’s voice.
“I figured we’d expect a call from you this morning,” Zach said. There was a pause, then, “Yes, we got your note, but we were exhausted and needed to rest. Calling you wasn’t exactly our priority.”
Drew was glad it was Zach dealing with Kensington. He was feeling too sleepy to get yelled at right now.
“There was a bit of an incident, but it turned out alright in the end.” The Grand Master must have asked what had happened, and Zach, bless him, was trying to prevent Drew from getting in trouble with his magical mentor. “Are you sure you need specifics?” Zach sighed. “Drew was attempting to make dinner for our anniv—really, Kensington, is all the yelling necessary? What’s done is done. We managed to get back from Hell unscathed and—”
There was another long pause, and Drew winced as he imagined how mad Kensington must be. He really wasn’t looking forward to his next meeting with him.
“Are you quite done?” Zach asked in a tired voice. “Look, he made a mistake. These things happen.” Zach hummed and then sighed once more. “Fine. What time should we expect you?”
Drew groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. His plans to laze about in bed were about to be derailed by an irritable wizard. There was movement above him and then sharp claws scratched at the blanket, followed by anotherbok.Drew lifted the blanket and allowed Leila to climb under with him, and she nestled into the crook of his arm. “I’m hiding here today, Leila,” he said into their dark little haven.
“No you’re not,” Zach said from the doorway.
“La la la, I can’thear you!” Drew sang.
The blanket was pulled off him, and Drew winced against the bright light. Zach stood at the foot of the bed, but he was more amused than angry. “Come on, Drew. It’s time to get up.”
“Do I have to?” Drew whined. Leila made an unhappy grumbling noise, echoing his sentiment.
“Yes. As I’m sure you overheard, since you’re hiding like a naughty toddler, Kensington is going to be gracing us with his presence.”
Drew tried to tug the blanket back up, but Zach held tight. “Can’t you deal with him?”
“I already have, and I’ve now got tinnitus thanks to his hysterical shrieking.”
Drew allowed his disbelief to show on his face. Kensington had a deep baritone voice, and he couldn’t imagine himshrieking.Growling, grumbling, roaring, and snapping, yes. But not shrieking.
“Okay, fine,” Zach conceded. “It was more volume than pitch that hurt my ears, but hopefully the worst of his ire will have worn off by the time he gets here. Now, come on. Up you get. I’ll make a start on some French toast for breakfast. It won’t be as romantic as an anniversary dinner, but it’s a step up from Cheerios. Then while you’re getting ripped a new asshole by Kensington, I’ll do some washing and other chores so maybe we can go out to dinner tonight to celebrate properly. Sound good?”
Drew nodded and smiled. “Yes, thanks.” Zach turned and left the room, and Drew jumped up from the bed, leaving Leila with ruffled feathers, and darted over to the clothes he’d thrown in the hamper last night. He found his jeans and dug around in a pocket, but to no avail. “No, no, no,” he moaned as he began searching the other pocket. “Fuck! Come on, it’s gotta be here somewhere!”
Leila stood up on the bed and wandered over to the edge, watching him curiously. She made a small trilling noise as Drew continued to panic.
“Where is it?” Drew cried, as even the tiny coin pocket came up empty. He went back to the first pocket and searched again. After thoroughlysearching through every nook and cranny of his jeans, emptying the laundry basket and shaking out each item of clothing, and even searching the floor of the bathroom, he was forced to admit the terrible truth.
He’d lost the engagement ring.
His throat tightened as tears threatened to spill, and he crossed to the bed and sank down next to Leila. “What am I going to do?” he asked brokenly.
Shebokkedand jumped onto his knee, settling her warm body down on his lap.
“Drew?” Zach called, then appeared in the doorway. “Oh, sweetness.” He hurried over and crouched down in front of him. “Don’t worry too much about Kensington,” he assured him. “He might be mad, but only because he’s worried. He won’t stay angry for long.”
Drew couldn’t admit that wasn’t the reason he was upset, so he simply nodded and wiped at his eyes.
“I’ve made you one of those flavoured sachet coffees you like,” Zach said gently. “Come and drink it while I whip up the toast.”
He followed behind Zach, wondering if it was possible he’d dropped the ring in the kitchen, or maybe he’d misremembered and he’d not actually had the ring in his jeans at all, but Drew knew that wasn’t true. He clearly recalled feeling the ring in his pocket at the inn before they’d gone to bed.
He must have lost it during their flight from the Shadow Blades.
He had a house now, but Zach had paid for it. His boyfriend had also paid his university fees. Drew didn’t have a car or lots of expenses, since he still lived as frugally as possible out of sheer habit, but that didn’t mean he was flush with cash. It had taken him a whole year to save enough to buy the ring, and he didn’t want to have to wait another year until he could save again to buy a replacement one. And he certainly wasn’t going to proposewithouta ring.
No, he needed to find the ring, so there was only one thing for it.
