Page 42 of Starborn Husbands

“Meet the world with who you are, Treyu, or everything else around you will fill you in,” he said.

He cares about me so much. Genuine care. Enough to deal with my sulky ass.

I have a one-track mind, so my brain jumps to sex. Zhang and I will have to consummate the marriage. That won’t be a hardship. Hate-sex is always good, right?

Ugh. But I already hate him less for stopping my execution. Even that’s ruined. Guess I’ll have to settle for angry sex.

The other stuff will be hard. The rules. The domestic life. He’ll be an angel eventually, so I’ll be raising the little starlet-Nephilims. Maybe Zhang’s so far down the line I could convince the king to release Zhang from princely duties to help me raise our children—I don’t want to raise them alone. I sensed a vibe there, between me and the king. He genuinely wants to drop me from the palace rafters at times, but I just know that I’m that wile-y imp he can’t help taking a shine to. We just haven’t reached the part where he takes a shine to me yet.

A new sensation seeps into me as I approach the palace gates: Trapped. Or well, if trapped were an emotion that would be what I feel. Instead, it’s just gnawing suffocation. A weight on my chest, stalling my breath.

“Let’s go, Orion. We were told to wait for you,” one of the guards says. Another man is with him. These aren’t my father’s warriors, they’re standard-issue palace guards.

I rub the back of my neck. “Know what? I think I’ll come back first thing in the morning.”

Backing away, I scout all the escape routes.

The angry guard whistles. More palace guards pop up like daisies. “Stand down and we won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not a prisoner.”

“No one’s allowed out past curfew without permission. If you need to go anywhere, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. You can come the easy way or the hard way.”

“Easy or hard for who?”

Committed to my escape, I forget all about fights I can’t win and go for it with a nice somersault tumble between buddy’s legs. Then I fucking run because fighting isn’t an option without my star power. Not against … fuck, is there eight of them?

Sprinting in a zig-zag pattern, I narrowly escape hands and tackles. It buys me more distance.

Until one doesn’t miss. “Got him.”

“No, you don’t.”

I swing with all my might, landing some punches that would have laid any human flat, but with this motherfucker, I’m a fly to swat at. His fist cracks into my jaw. Spit and blood fly out of my mouth. I don’t give up.

Punch after solid punch bashes my head, and the skin around my left eye swells with tightness until I can’t see what the fuck I’m doing. I don’t care. They’re going to have to hold me down. Spoiler alert—they do. My arms are pinned behind my back and cuffed there. A heavy hand shoves my shoulder, buckling my knees. They hit the dirt hard—well that’s gonna bruise—and the world spins, forcing me to close my eyes so I don’t hurl everywhere.

“What do we do with him?”

“Don’t bother the king, just throw him downstairs. He can stew there for a night and then maybe he’ll adhere to curfew in the future.”

Two men lift me, one to each side. My feet drag along the dirt and my head lolls. I hang on until there’s darkness, nasty smells, and dampness. My ass hits the cold stone floor, and I fall against it, not worried about what the reeking wetness I’m lying in is and lose my battle with consciousness.

* * *

A familiar voice yells. There’s clanging. Also, an annoyingdrip, drip, dripsound, which I hope to the Gods is coffee.

I smile about the voice because I know it’s Zhang and if he’s that angry, I must have done something really good to piss him off. Can’t recall what I did, but I’m sure he’ll tell me, and I’ll relive all the delight again.

There’s more clanging and then a large body looms over me. The presence is heavy, and I try to pry my eyes open, but not only is it too bright with some star shining their fucking light at me—rude—but only one of my eyes can open at all. A stone-like hand cups my face.

“What did they do to you?”

Zhang?

“Babe?” I have to needle him some way and “babe” is all I’ve got right now. He started it.

He rubs my cheek. “Yeah, it’s me. Just a second.” He leans back. “You have five fucking seconds to get in here and get these cuffs off him.”