Page 39 of Starborn Husbands

“This way,” he growls, not willing to argue with me further.

My skin tingles and my heart pounds with the rising vibration as we get nearer to our destination. There’s gotta be a fuck ton of quartz in this sandstone.

“He called your name,” Gem tells him. “Treyu did.”

“Gem, are you trying to make him turn around?”

“I can’t now,” Zhang says. “You’ll die, but it is the only thing keeping me here at this point.”

“And I knew that,” Gem says.

He’s so fucking smart.

I rub the scar on the curve of my skull where I took a starblade to the head for Gemini, once. I’ve had marks sliced into several places protecting Gem, and I’m proud to say that the same hasn’t happened to him.

“What you smiling about, baby?” he asks.

“Murder.”

“Reptilian dignitary who threatened my life?”

My eyes widen. “Yeah, how did you know?”

“You’re rubbing your scar. I pay attention to you too, you know. I’m fluent in Atlanta.”

“Really?” I say, leering at him. I can’t wait to glow for him, naked. “What am I thinking now?”

“How much you want me,” he breathes out.

“We’re in a temple of the Gods, you two. Have some respect,” Zhang lectures.

I roll my eyes but cease my flirting. I want this over with so that I can get to the good part. Gem and I haven’t had our getting-back-together reunion. I want him to get to know the only dick he’s ever getting again. And yeah, he knows my dick, but until today it was one of many. Now, this is it for him.

This place is eerie too. It reeks of God power, and yeah, we get our power from the Gods, but this is on another level.

In and out, like I’m at a human gas station. That’s how quick this needs to be.

The walkways are wide enough for even Zhang’s sasquatch-ass. We travel up, up, up, and then down into places where the air gets thinner. At least for me. They don’t seem affected, but my limbs are sluggish, and my eyelids flutter.

“You okay, baby?” Gem says.

“Awesome,” I say. I don’t want to worry him. Rule one about being a husband—as learned from Father—never worry the husband. We might not be husbands yet, but we will be. I need the practice. Besides, nothing’s wrong. Anyone would be tired if they were me. I rarely find the time to sleep and even when I do, it’s fitful at best.

I rub my eyes to stay awake. Gods, this place is fucking bright. Squinting is all I can do to keep from going blind. That wall says something interesting, wish I could read it, but my brain’s not putting thoughts together. It’s mushy pea soup up there. I focus on the hieroglyphs shaped like monsters and demons to keep me awake, but instead of reading the stories on the walls, I imagine how I would fight them. Fighting’s as easy as walking to me, and I can do that half-dead. Over and over, I go through battle scenarios until it gets harder to breathe and put one foot in front of the other.

“Atlanta Orion.”

“What, Gemini?” I make my voice stronger than it feels, but if he’s gonna bitch at me, it’s gonna distract me. My focus needs to be on staying upright.

“You said you were fine.”

“I am. D’you see me bleeding?”

“I swear, when we get out of here, you’re in so much trouble.”

“C’mon, don’t be mad. I’ll do that thing you like with my tongue in your ass.” Speaking of my tongue, it feels thick. The hieroglyphs are blurry, and I can’t distinguish the monsters from the cats anymore. How am I supposed to protect Gem if I can’t find the monsters? Pulling air into my lungs isn’t getting much traction either, but somehow, I plod on.

“Zhang, we have to hurry,” Gem says.