Since I’m trying to avoid any spoilers for Earth Girl, there are only vague hints about one important detail in this story. People who’ve already read Earth Girl should know exactly what that detail is. Part I Last month, I’d celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday surrounded by smiling family and friends. Last week, I’d been happily dreaming of the future. Yesterday, I’d been part of a loving triad marriage. Today, my dreams and my marriage had been shattered, and I was sitting alone in a room. Ten minutes ago, the older of my two husbands, Ardreath, had left, slamming the door behind him. My mind was still reeling, not so much from the way he’d slapped my face, but from his final, brutal words. My great-uncle, Lolek, had often told me I was too emotional, and maybe he was right. My pain was as bad as if Ardreath had carved those words into my skin with a knife. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. Ardreath couldn’t have said those things. Ardreath couldn’t have hit me.
