“Are you sure you don’t mind me heading out this morning?” Zach asked, hovering in the doorway, his whiskey-coloured eyes creased in worry.
Drew resisted the urge to sigh and gave him an encouraging smile instead. “For the millionth time,go.I really don’t mind.”
“But it’s our anniversary,” Zach said.
Drew knew this wasn’t the real reason Zach was hesitant to leave him this morning. The youth centre he volunteered at was hosting a talent show, and Zach had been the first to put up his hand to help. Drew had been happy for him to go so long as they got to spend the evening together. It had all been sorted and agreed upon with no issues. Until now.
The fact that Zach was now reluctant to leave Drew alone on the morning of their first anniversary together most likely stemmed from the recent addition to their household who had appeared yesterday.
Leila.
Leila was currently sitting next to Drew on the sofa, nestled against his thigh. She was an Ayam Cemani hen, and she was as black as the coffee that Simon from the Nightingale Collective liked to drink. This not only included her feathers, but her comb, wattles, eyes, beak, and feet. According to the research they’d done yesterday, even her flesh and internal organs were black, thanks to a dominant gene that caused hyperpigmentation. Drew had little experience with chickens, but she seemed small for a hen, with long legs that made her appear more like some kind of waterbird than the sort of chicken he imagined when he thought of them pre-KFC’d.
According to Bartholomew Kensington—the Grand Master of the Nightingale Collective—Leila was actually a familiar. Only the most powerful of magic users had familiars. Kensington himself didn’t even have one. They were as rare as, well, hen’s teeth.
Drew didn’t really like to think too hard about why he had one and the Grand Master didn’t. He had been told countless times that the ability he was learning to wield was extremely powerful, but until now it had been more theoretical. Drew was only a year into his magical training and hadn’t really had a chance to test his power as yet. Sure, he’d managed to break the bonds that an ex-angel turned demon had held over Zach, but he’d done that by overloading the gem that chained him to Oberon with his power. Drew hadn’t actuallyfoughtOberon in battle or anything.
They’d been out for a hike yesterday afternoon and Leila had suddenly appeared. The fact that she had immediately attacked Zach—who still bore the evidence of the fight on his scratched arms and face—was a big contributor to Zach’s wariness of her. Drew didn’t like the fact that Zach had been injured, but the cuts and scratches weren’t dire. If he ignored that aspect of their first encounter, it had actually been rather funny in hindsight. Watching Zach, a six-foot-two powerful man, being bested by a three-pound chicken was the most entertainment Drew had seen in a long time. It beat crappy reality TV, anyway.
Kensington had identified Leila as a familiar, but he knew little about them off the top of his head. He’d said he would do some research and let them know when he had something concrete to tell them, but until then, they were just going to wing it.
Given the number of wing feathers that had been pulled yesterday during the standoff between angel and familiar, Drew just hoped they’d survive “winging it” until they learned more.
“Zach, we’ll befine,”Drew stressed, reaching down and stroking his hand gently along Leila’s back. She trilled softly, and he felt a warm flush of happiness wash over him. He wondered if that was from some sort of bond that was forming between them? Only time would tell, he supposed.
“You’re certain? I can call them and say I’ve come down sick,” Zach offered.
“Firstly,” Drew listed. “You wouldn’t do that because you know how much the kids have been looking forward to today. Secondly, I actuallyneedyou gone so I can prepare your surprise for tonight. Lastly, Leila isnota threat to me, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
Zach’s eyes softened. “You’ve got a surprise planned?”
Grinning, Drew nodded. “Yes, and it’s going to be epic, so would you please go away so I can get started on it?”
“Fine.” Zach crossed the room and bent over to drop a kiss on Drew’s lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Have fun, and make sure you take lots of photos for me.”
“Even better, I’ll get videos,” Zach promised.
“I can’t wait. Tell them to break a leg.”
“None of them are as clumsy as you, so I don’t think they’ll take your advice,” Zach teased.
Drew flipped him off as Zach hurried down the stairs, his laughter drifting up behind him. Chuckling, Drew scritched the top of Leila’s head, just behind her comb. “I’m so lucky to have him,” he confided to her in a soft voice.
It must have been Drew’s imagination that her little chirp in reply sounded doubtful.
Drew grabbed the shopping list from the kitchen counter and pocketed his phone before he turned to leave. He patted his other pocket, feeling the outline of the wedding ring he’d slipped in there after Zach had left. His nerves had almost gotten the better of him, and he found that slipping his fingers inside his pocket to simply touch the cool metal helped enormously. It was grounding, and over the course of the morning his nerves had slowly morphed into anticipation and excitement. Today was the day, and he wanted it to be perfect.
As he went to leave, he found Leila standing at the top of the stairs, blocking his way. “I have to go to the store, and they don’t allow chickens inside,” he told her. “You have to stay here.”
She gave him a disapproving look. He didn’t know if regular chicken’s faces were so expressive or if it was because Leila was a familiar, but she didn’t seem to have any trouble conveying her emotions.
Drew crossed to her, scooped her into his arms, and then deposited her on the sofa. “I won’t be long, okay?”
He hurried over to the stairs and thundered down them, then froze as he found Leila barring the front door. Drew frowned and looked over his shoulder up the stairs, but there was no way she could have flown over his head without him noticing. “How did you do that?” he asked.
Leilabokkedat him angrily and strutted over to him before flying up and landing on his shoulder.
