Page 147 of Starborn Husbands

“Why would the hawthors do anything for you?” he says.

“Rude, but I’ll let it go this once. Next time, you swab the deck.” It’s a valid question though. One only my paranoid brother would ask.

“None of you see an issue with this?” Atlanta says.

“I’m not entirely sure it’s going to be so easy, but I think it’s our best course of action, Lanta.” Gem kisses Atlanta’s cheek.

“It’s the only thing that’ll get him out of his contract with Heaven,” Zhang says. “He might not be an angel, but archangels are willing to make it so to meet their ends.”

Like they did with Erick.

“For fifty years,” Atlanta adds. He huffs. “Anyway, get in here. We have other problems to take care of.”

We follow Atlanta into the ship’s brig where Boone is alive and well. “Hey, fellas. I’m not gonna bite, okay? I came off strong. I do that. I just wanna talk.”

“So, talk,” I say. Things are finally going my way after weeks of one bullshit thing to the next. The hawthors’ offer isn’t perfect, but it’s the best I’ve been given so far. I just know he’s about to bring more misery into my life.

“You’re an important member of my rebellion, and we need you back,” Boone says. Deep malachite eyes cut into my soul.

“Rebellion?” I laugh. Oh, Gods. It just gets worse and worse. “Why would you lead with that?”

“I know it sounds crazy to you now, but?—”

Zhang lunges at the bars, snarling. “Shut up, Boone. That was another life. A temporary one.”

“He doesn’t know what he really is, does he?”

I’ve had enough of this. I’m fucking ready. “You tell me,” I say.

“Treyu. Don’t. You don’t know what you’re asking.” He turns to Boone. “The hawthors were trying to protect him. If you utter that aloud, you put him at more risk than he already is.”

Boone’s lips curl into a nasty sneer. “Wanna know who made you forget, Treyu? Him. He didn’t cast the spell, but he made it happen.”

Zhang clenches his fists and takes a breath.

Aside from everything pointing to me having done the deed somehow, even if Zhang had been the one to make everyone forget, he’d have a good reason. And fuck,torturehe’d said when I asked him why he got to remember. It would have been a lot easier for him to forget too, but I bet it was what would help him protect me. My man, such a martyr for a cause.

“Stop trying to fuck with us, Boone. If I want to find a reason to be mad at my husband, there’s no shortage.” I lace my fingers with Zhang’s to show our unbreakable solidarity. “You really think I shouldn’t know, babe?”

He spins me to face him. His features are absent of the anger I expect. Wow, I’ve finally succeeded in shocking him. He moves the hair off my face. “I don’t, but I’m biased. I want to shield you from things you don’t want to be shielded from. Maybe you can’t be shielded from this. It’s going to change everything.”

Yeah, probably, but maybe I can find out who’s after me and put an end to them.

“Go ahead, Boone. Lay it on me.”

“You’re a demigod. I don’t know how it came to be and neither did you, but your powers manifested when you were in your human vessel because you didn’t have your sunstar. We became friends and you helped me with a teensy-weensy little rebellion I’ve been working on. Now that your sunstar is gone, you’re no longer hidden from whatever God or Goddess sired you. A whole bunch of people have mixed feelings about half stars that are also half Gods, which is why they don’t make ‘em. You’d be a star legacy. In other words, you’re one dangerous sonuva bitch. Basically, everyone in your galaxy is after you. And uh, maybe mine too.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

Atlanta

Iknew it. I fucking knew it couldn’t be this easy. It never is. I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re going home to talk to Father. What we should have done in the first place. But something about Zhang’s body language says we’ve finally cracked the truth with a fucking sledgehammer.

“Shit. We’ve got to get the fuck out of here.”

My brother tears at his chest. I know news like that must have him spinning, but we don’t have time to deal with it.

“Bet you all wished you’d talked to me instead of shooting me, eh?” Boone says.