Page 31 of Starborn Husbands

I force myself to open my eyes to gaze upon his ethereal beauty and then reach up to move the long strands of red hair blocking me from viewing every part of him. The rain’s getting him, he should be sheltered from it. It’s plastering his wispy hair to his scalp. Fucking hell, Gem, your pretty robes will get all muddy. I’m your grunt. You should be in a tower that I guard, safe, warm, and clean.

“Why isn’t your hair tied back? You like your hair tied back.” That’s what comes out instead of my string of nonsense consciousness.

How much has changed in a week? I didn’t care before, but now missing a second with him is a crime.

He smiles. “Your brother’s fault. I had to fetch him early this morning for his punishment and then return him to your father. It left only enough time for a quick brush.”

“There should always be time for you, Gemini.”

I marvel at him. I didn’t want to have to suffer this on top of the rest, but if these are our last moments together, I’m going to take them.

“Punishment? They were supposed to wait for me,” Zhang says. He lets off his rage, kicking at shredded wood until it’s flying everywhere, growling. There are severalsplooshesas the disrupted debris lands in the massive rain puddles. “I need to get back there immediately.”

“Wait, Zhang I … Treyu’s in pain, but he’s fine. He’s happy to be looked after by Kris Orion for now. I need you to help me with something if Atlanta’s amendable.”

That shakes me from my gut-wrenching heartache. If Gemini is in trouble, I’ll help too. I stand and bring him with me, pulling him into my arms. “What is it, Gem? Whatever it is, the answer is yes.”

“You might not say that after. Y-You may never even want to speak to me again.”

We haven’t bonded as married stars do and yet I can feel a bursting from within him. He’s breaking apart. I’m causing that by living. Yanking my starblade from my hip, I know there’s only one solution. One of us has to die so the other can be set free from this dreadful entanglement.

“Set yourself free of me, Gem. Make sure you stab up and under the ribcage.” He’s not as good with a blade as I am. He’s so slight, he’ll need someone at least half as good as me with a blade to protect him. I’ll become stardust, scattered throughout the sky. At least I’ll never have to feel again.

“What in the Nebuli are you talking about, Atlanta? I’m not stabbing you through the heart.” He treats me to the most displeasure he’s ever given me. If I could put my ears back like a naughty puppy, I would. “Don’t ever do that again, or I will stab you and it won’t be fatal. Just painful.”

He stands taller, making every attempt not to allow his jaw to tremble, but it tremors now and then, giving him away.

“I was going to ask you to drink from the cup and come home,” he says.

“Gemini,” Zhang, little Mr. Righteous, says. The disapproval rings loud and clear.

“Just listen to me. I’ve only been a week without Atlanta, and I can’t bear it any longer, Zhang.”

“Time heals. Give it more time than a week for the Gods’ sake, which speaking of, I don’t have to lecture you about what the Gods will do if you squander their gifts.”

“I’m not squandering. Atlanta and I will leave and do good things throughout the universe on other planets—including Earth. We’ll prove to the Gods we’re worthy of such a gift, and they’ll forgive us.”

My heart lifts. The Gods forgiving anything is delusional, but I can be on the run with him forever. I know how to protect him. “Like … space hunters or something?”

Gem nods. “Uh-huh.” We stare at each other, and I try to broadcast my answer to him. I want to say something romantic. Something better than a simple “yes I’ll fight evil through the galaxy with you”. The right words are at the tip of my brain, but I can’t reach them.

“How? How will you get around the galaxy?” Zhang says.

Gem holds up his wrist, never taking his eyes from me. “I’m keeping this stargate, and I was planning on stealing a ship.”

I snatch his beautiful wrist with the stargate on it and run my thumb over it. The runes glimmer. It’s sort of like what humans would call a watch with the way it fits around his wrist and has a face with numbers written with the hieroglyphics of the Pleiades on it. Like some watches, it contains quartz, but unlike a watch, the numbers are for coordinates instead of telling time.

Gemini was given a stargate at his coronation, naming him the crown prince of the Nebuli. “How can you give up your crown for me?” I ask.

“Not just for you, for me too. I’m not giving up my duty entirely—that’s what makes this work for me—I’m dictating the way I do that.”

“You’re not a human, Gemini,” Zhang says. “Free will is for humans. You serve the Nebuli.”

“And I will,” he says, turning his head toward his brother. “I always will, Zhang. Tell me what you would do if Father said you could never see Treyu again.”

Zhang sucks a hard breath over his teeth. The conflict is plain on his face. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Yes, you do. You just don’t like the answer,” Gem fires back. When Zhang has nothing else to say, he continues. “I-If Atlanta doesn’t want this that’s different, but if he does and it’s duty keeping us apart, I won’t be effective with a broken heart.”