Page 140 of Starborn Husbands

Cupping his face in one hand, I tilt it up to meet my gaze. “Am I betraying us by coming with you?”

Only Gem can tell me that I am. There are too many ways to view the situation. Zhang thinks I’ll be taken from Gem and that I assist that end by leaving the ship. I’m willing to risk that to keep him safe.

“No.I want you, Atlanta. As you are and even if I don’t agree with you sometimes. Disagreement isn’t betrayal. Weren’t you lecturing me about self-doubt only moments ago?”

The corners of my lips hitch into a smile. “The doubt is the betrayal. It won’t happen again.” I steal a kiss.

Wind almost knocks us off our feet. No. That’s not wind. That’s a fucking ship landing. I cover Gemini and we tumble to the ground, rolling us away far enough that I can lift my head and ready my weapon.

Treyu and Zhang have done the same, only Treyu’s taken one of Zhang’s star blades.

I recognize the fighter jet. “I knew we hadn’t lost it,” I mutter. Fuck. Whatever. I’ll kill whoever’s inside. The wind dies and the cockpit opens. A thick-muscled man jumps the twenty feet rather than climbing down, landing with the kind of agility that only comes from practice. He’s like every army slash marine man I’ve ever worked with on Earth, but his head is shaved on one side with a long patch of blond hair that’s flipped to his left.

And shit, is he from Earth? Gotta be. There’s something irrefutably human about him, even though he’s too big to be classified as one. If he’s here though, and not suffocating from the lower volume of oxygen in Alcyone’s atmosphere, he can’t be human.

He’s not wearing any visible weapons, but that doesn’t mean he’s not armed. He’s dressed head to toe in olive green, without a stitch of armor. I don’t know what he is, but he’s crazy. His hands are held in the universal “I come in peace” gesture. I don’t take my weapon off him.

“I’m here to talk to Treyu,” he says in a voice that sounds like his vocal cords have been scraped raw with sandpaper.

“The fuck you are,” I say, ready to shoot first and ask questions later.

Zhang and Treyu train their swords on him, but even with all of us surrounding him, the man stands tall. Terrible iciness freezes my veins. We’re not a threat to him, he’s a threat to us.

Treyu squints, studying the man. Zhang’s watching Treyu, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but it’s not who he should be watching.

“B-Boone?” Treyu says.

“You remember him?” Zhang says.

I don’t lower my weapon, but I allow the tension in my muscles to recede.

“I think I do…?” Treyu says, rubbing his temples. “I’m not sure.”

“What’s the matter, Zhang, speechless?” the man—Boone I guess—says, cocking a dirty eyebrow.

Zhang sheathes his sword. “What do you want?”

“I came to help,” he says.

Zhang’s lips contort, but he can’t seem to make them say words. He growls, pulling Treyu in front of him, and gripping his forearms, forcing him to drop his sword. “Can you remember anything else?”

“I … fuck.” Treyu yanks an arm away to grip the roots of his hair. His lip wobbles. “Zhang.”

Zhang glares at the man. “You’re a fool, Boone, in this life and the next.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

Treyu

It’s like looking through a dirty lens. Blurry scenes play like a low-budget human film across the screen of my mind. Muffled voices say things I can’t make out, except for him.Boone.

“It’s your fault,” I recall out loud.

“Which part?” Boone says.

“I don’t know, but probably something to do with the memory thing since you seem to remember.”

“Nope. Let’s just say that I wasn’t in the vicinity when shit went down with that.”