Page 137 of Starborn Husbands

The flashing stops. The monitors settle down.

“Gone,” Atlanta says.

“What do you mean gone?” I say.

“Like they were never fucking there,” Atlanta murmurs. “Don’t like that.”

“Me either. Gem?” Zhang prompts.

Gem nods. “Let’s head to the Pleiades star cluster, but not to Tauri Nebula. We should seek out the hawthors for protection—they said they’d give Treyu asylum. Whoever did this to Zhang had the power to erase this from everyone who knew Treyu, or even knew of him. That’s some powerful spellcraft.”

I lean over Zhang’s massive shoulder, feeling guilty for once that I’m such a nuisance. But just the once. He’d better savor it.

“I wish I could remember,” I say.

Zhang reaches a hand back to lace with mine, focused on setting our course for home. We’re still a week out from the outskirts of our star cluster.

“C’mon, Treyu. Our men need food. Atlanta’s jaw is ticking,” Gem says.

“Because I don’t know where that ship went. Ships don’t just disappear. Stay close, baby,” Atlanta warns.

“We’ll be in the galley. Not for too long.” Gem tries to plant a kiss on his cheek, but Atlanta pulls him in for something deeper.

Zhang’s eyes are still forward, but he curls his fingers at me, a silent command I don’t appreciate. We’re married. We fuck. I like him, I guess. But we’re not in love like Gem and Atlanta are. We don’t have regular and familiar between us yet.

But we did.

“Were we madly in love?” I ask, even though he can’t answer that question.

He smiles and it’s a smirky smile, so naturally, I get ready to punch him in his damn face. His two fingers tap the side of his cheek. I freeze and then kiss him without knowing why I’m doing it. It’s reflexive.

Can the body remember what the mind can’t?

“Remember, no onions, Starfleet.”

That earns the eye roll he gets from me.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

Atlanta

My reckless driving has us at the perimeter of the Pleiades in just over a week. It’s a good thing, too, because I’m tired of Zhang and Treyu’s constant bickering. You’d think sex and married life would tone them down. It hasn’t. It’s made them worse.

The only thing that’s changed is my brother’s proclivity for hanging off him like a monkey. I liked it better when he actively kept his distance. Now, he’s always jumping on his back, hanging off his neck, or lounging in his lap.

The perimeter is quiet, blinking with thousands of our kin who light the inky blackness. Lines of sizzling gold streak through the darkness and then disappear, destined to land in other universes. The silence crawls under my skin. Maybe Zhang and Treyu’s obnoxious voices wouldn’t be so bad right now, but everyone else is asleep. I made Gemini lie down. He spent the week trying to get Treyu to remember something about his enlightenment.

I kept reminding him that we were approaching the hawthors for that very reason. The seven sisters—the hawthors—speak directly with the seven Goddesses. The Goddesses are generally thought of as good.

But his concern wouldn’t dissipate.

Heavy footsteps announce Zhang’s arrival. He’s dressed in full gear and at his swift pace, his jacket flies as if it’s riding on the wind. “What’s the plan?” he says as he takes his seat as co-pilot.

We’ve been switching on and off. Gem and Treyu can drive, but I like the thought of chauffeuring Gem around, and Treyu likes being chauffeured around even though Father made damn sure that he’s one helluva driver. At least when he puts his mind to it. He’s been known to get distracted.

“You’re asking me?” I might be a bossy Orion, but I know where I rank. Zhang outranks me by far.

“I meant what I said. None of that exists anymore. We make the decisions with the counsel of our partners.”