“Both. Now stop prevaricating.”
“That’s a big word. Did you learn it from a crossword puzzle?”
“No, I learnt it from your mom.”
“My mom is dead.”
“Kinky.” Andras winked.
“Gross.”
“You’re stalling. What did you come back for?”
“Ugh! You are so annoying!” Drew whined.
“It’s a talent,” Andras agreed. “Now tell me.”
“Fine!” Drew cried. “I lost the engagement ring I got for Zach. There. Are you happy now?”
Andras froze, looking shocked. His mouth opened and closed several times, but he seemed to have lost the capacity to speak.
Drew enjoyed the silence for the first thirty seconds, but then began to second-guess himself. Was Andras stunned by how dumb Drew was to eventhinkthat Zach would consider marrying him? Besides marriage being an entirely human concept, Zach was over two thousand years old. He and Drew had been together for only a year. Up until now, he’d been sure that Zach would accept his proposal. They’d already discussed how committed they were to one another, and Zach had commented many times about how happy married couples looked.
But was Drew only seeing what hewantedto see? Had he been projecting his own wants and desires onto their relationship? Andras had known Zach for centuries, and if he’d understood correctly, had beentogetherwith him for almost as long. Of the two of them, he knew Zach best. That wasn’t even Drew being dismissive of their relationship—it was simple math. Did Andras believe Zach wouldn’twantto marry Drew? That it was some silly human custom that held no real meaning to beings that lived for as long as they did?
Drew wasn’t naïve. Heknewhe would not live as long as Zach. Yes, he was certain Zach wanted them to spend the rest of Drew’s life together, but would he really want to tie himself by Canadian law to Drew? Maybe instead of being silly and romantic, Drew should havediscussedthis with Zach first? That would have been the mature thing to do . . .
Fuck.
“An engagement ring?” Andras finally croaked out.
Drew nodded, and his shoulders slumped. “Before you say anything, Iknowit’s a stupid idea and he probably won’t even want to marry me. But yes, that’s why I came back.”
Andras was shaking his head. “No, I don’t think it’s stupid. I think it’s very sweet.” He gave Drew a gentle smile, but there was something else in his expression Drew couldn’t quite get a read on.
Was it guilt?
“Wait,” he said, suspicion boiling to the surface. “You’re a thief! Zach said it’s your job, plus you stole that dagger from Lucifer, and something else Orias wouldn’t tell us about. Did you steal my ring?”
“What?” Andras sputtered. “No! And what do you mean, Orias said I stole something else? I took nothing but the dagger!”
“Orias said that’s a lie, that you didn’t tell us everything. He said the dagger was the least of the things you stole.”
Andras looked genuinely confused by this. “I have no idea why he said that because it’s not true. I left the palace with the dagger, and that’s it. And I swear I didn’t steal your ring.”
“Then why do you look guilty? I’ve been searching for over a day for the ring. If you took it . . .”
“I didn’t take it!” Andras shouted.
“Your face says otherwise!”
“I’m not feeling guilty because I stole your stupid ring!”
Drew zeroed in on the important part of that statement. “But youarefeeling guilty! Why?”
“Because I’m jealous!” Andras snapped. His pale face was flushed and his grey eyes were wild, but as soon as the words slipped out, the fight drained from him. He sank to his knees next to the urco and stared at the ground.
This was new territory for Drew, and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. Despite his earlier ire, he found he wasn’t actually angry with Andras. Confused, yes, but not angry. He sat down next to the demon and tried to catch his eyes. Andras resolutely averted his gaze, but Drew wasn’t deterred. “Do you still love him?” he asked softly. It wasn’t accusatory, just a simple question.
