Leila stuck to her poultry mix after that.
The day grew late as it took Drew twice as long as it originally had to traverse the distance. He couldn’t be sure, but hethoughtthey were close to the settlement. He really didn’t want to spend the night on the plains if he could avoid it. His eyes were dry, his body ached, and his attention was waning. He didn’t even hear the sound of something approaching until the last moment when he caught a movement in the corner of his eye.
Just before he was taken to the ground, he heard a voice shout, “Princess! No!”
Chapter 13
Helpless
Zach couldn’t sleep. He lay in bed, tossing, turning, and worrying. His head ached from trying—and failing—many times to transport himself to Hell. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he’d kept trying regardless. Now his magic was depleted, his body was protesting, and his heart ached at the thought of Drew alone and vulnerable in Hell.
What on earth could have been so important that Drew felt the need to return to that realm by himself? His last words were, “I’m sorry. I left something very important behind.” To Zach’s knowledge, Drew had taken nothing with him, so what could he have left behind? Could he have meant Andras? His boyfriend was extremely tender-hearted and empathetic. Maybe he’d felt bad that Andras had been left behind to flee from the Shadow Blades?
That made little sense, though. Drew had only been learning to wield his magic for a year, and none of that had been combat training. His confidence with certain spells had grown in leaps and bounds, but he wasn’t daft enough to think he could take on an entire troop of ShadowBlades alone. If he’d felt strongly enough about leaving Andras behind, he would have appealed to Zach and Kensington and asked them to help him.
So, what else could it be? The only thing Zach could think of was some sort of an anniversary present that he’d been carrying with him at the time. If that were the case, he was going to murder his boyfriend when he returned. No gift was worth risking his damn life over! It would make sense, though. Zach had been generously compensated for the millennia he’d spent in Hell and was able to provide a very comfortable life for the both of them. That wasn’t something Drew took for granted, and he continued to live frugally. It would be just like him to risk life and limb for a gift he’d saved up to buy.
Whatever the reason, it didn’t change the fact that sweet, clumsy Drew was all by himself in one of the most dangerous places in existence, and Zach couldn’t do anything to help. It made him want to scream, but that would accomplish nothing except pissing the neighbours off. Zach could only be patient and wait for Kensington to get in touch with his colleagues.
The night felt interminable, and when dawn broke, he dragged himself from bed, bleary-eyed and grumpy. Zach’s hopes of Drew returning under his own steam were dashed when it became obvious he’d not been able to pop to Hell, grab whenever it was he’d left behind, then return quickly. It had been almost twenty-four hours since Drew had vanished. With every second that ticked by, he grew more and more worried.
Being full of nervous adrenaline with no outlet led to Zach pacing the house relentlessly. He brewed a cup of coffee, but left it on the countertop. Every tiny noise had him on alert, and he hurried from room to room to see if it was Drew returning. He chewed one of his fingernails down to the quick to keep himself from screaming in frustration. Eventually, figuring he had to dosomethingbefore he lost his mind, he grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out, deciding to go for a walk.
The morning was bright and sunny, though the breeze was cool. Zach took no enjoyment from the weather, too worried sick about Drew tocare. He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, put his head down, and allowed his feet to carry him wherever they chose. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been walking when he looked up to find he was just down the road from the Starbucks on Fifth Street. On impulse, he headed for the entrance.
There weren’t a lot of customers inside, but the counter was lined with drinks for mobile pickup. Zach went to the counter and placed his order before standing back to wait. He stared into space, zoning out as his mind tried to picture where Drew was at this very moment. Had he run into any trouble? Was he hurt? Zach’s heart thundered in his chest at the mere thought of his sweet Drew being injured and not being there to help him, and his helplessness tasted bitter on his tongue.
“Zach?” a voice said from behind him, and he flinched in shock.
Dominic Ortiz looked apologetic for startling Zach, and he reached up to squeeze his shoulder. “Sorry, man. You okay?”
Zach nodded and forced a small smile. “Uh, yeah. ’Course I am.”
“A peppermint mocha frap for Zach!” the barista called, setting his drink on the counter.
One of Dom’s perfectly manicured eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, I don’t believe you. Grab your drink and sit with me a while,” he suggested.
Zach sighed but nodded, then did as he was told.
They sat opposite one another at one of the small tables along the wall, Zach with his frappe and Dom with his cappuccino. Dom was dressed for the gym in loose shorts and a tank top that showed off his shoulders and biceps. His clothing was all designer brands, but they were well worn. Zach knew Dom’s family was wealthy, but he wasn’t frivolous with it. He didn’t replace his clothing simply because a new season’s line was released, but only when his old clothes wore out. It was one of the reasons he and Drew were such good friends, despite being from such vastly different backgrounds.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Dom asked, taking a sip of his drink.
“Wanna tell me why you’re so sure somethingiswrong?” Zach fired back.
“We’ve known each other for almost a year now, Zach,” Dom replied. “I think I know you pretty well, and I consider you a good friend. I mean, I’ve petted your belly while you’ve been high on nip, after all. In all that time, I’ve only ever seen you drink either black coffee oroccasionallya cold brew with one pump of creamer. Suddenly, you’ve ordered for yourself one of Drew’s favourite sugary concoctions? That’s a red flag right there. Then there’s the fact you jumped a goddamn mile when I spoke to you. You’re always super composed, so yeah, I’mprettyfreaking sure something is wrong.”
Zach inclined his head at the reasons given, silently acknowledging Dom had a point. “Okay, you’re right. Things are pretty bad right now.”
Dom frowned. “Is it Drew? Is he okay?”
His stomach roiled again as he choked out, “I don’t know.”
“Tell me what happened,” Dom demanded. “I’m assuming this has something to do with—” He gave a furtive look around the restaurant to make sure no one was close enough to hear them but dropped his voice to a whisper. “Magic?” Dom had been there when Oberon had attacked them at VIU last year, and was up to speed on the reality of the world.
Zach nodded. “Yes. Drew was trying to cook us an anniversary dinner,” he started, but Dom’s groan interrupted him.
“He didn’t!”
