Free Alien Exile: An Alien Warrior Romance (The Tourin Legacy Book 5) by Immortal Angel Page B

panting. But all I can see is her pale face. Even though I can’t see the radiation slowly destroying her body, I know it’s there. Killing her. As insidiously as the toxin.
    My heart twists. If she hadn’t come with me, she’d be safe somewhere. She was supposed to outlive us all, and now she might be the first to go. I can’t lose her.
    I swallow around the lump in my throat. She can’t die. I won’t let her.
    Corin’s hand comes down on my shoulder.
    “You know this will take all the juice we have. And she still may not make it. Some organ damage is irreversible.”
    I still. Of course I know logically that most people exposed to radiation experience terrible sickness and loss of bodily control before finally dying. But my little warrioress can survive this. She’s defied all other odds.
    Don’t think about it, I command myself. My men still need me. I can’t afford to give in to my fears.
    Glancing at Corin, I see him studying Ande in the oddest way.
    That’s when it hits me. Putting her in the only healing bunk didn’t just doom me, but him, as well. It’s a testament of Corin’s loyalty to me that he didn’t protest my use of the bunk. The two of us are going to die a lot sooner now that we’ve been hit by the radiation. Maybe immediately.
    “Corin…” I start, not sure what to say.
    “Save it, Juordie.” He waves me away. “I would have done the same.”
    But this isn’t his mate. It’s mine. I can never repay his loyalty.
    “At least we don’t have to wonder when it will be,” he says, forcing a smile.
    “Yeah.” The room starts to spin.
    Just then, Casin comes in.
    “Who’s piloting…the ship?” I ask, struggling to catch my breath.
    “We’re in orbit.” He rubs a hand nervously through his blond hair. “And you’ll never guess where.”
    “Where?” Corin and I ask at the same time.
    He takes a deep breath. “Around Ardakat. The cat planet.”
    My mouth drops open. This can’t really be happening. No one has this bad of luck.
    “What are the chances?” Corin says, his voice laced with disbelief.
    “About three billion to one,” Casin says, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. “From what I’ve gathered, that shock wave literally blew us through the wormhole and through space on the other side in the opposite direction of home.” His lips quirk up at the corners. “By all rights, we should be dead. But I don’t know which is worse. If those bastards realize we’re here…”
    I can’t even answer. I press a button on the wall and a sleeping bunk comes out. I really wish it was a healing bunk, but it’s not. I climb onto it unsteadily, shaking.
    “What happened to you guys?”
    I catch a glimpse of Corin doing the same on another bunk across the room.
    “Engine broke. Blue light. Irradiated.”
    “But the healing bunk…” Casin’s eyes go to Ande inside the bunk. “Fuck.”
    “I believe that’s been said before.” I try to smile, but it comes out as a grimace. “The cat planet.” I chuckle weakly, looking at Ande underneath the glass beside me. “She’s going to love that.”
     

3
Ande’ie
     
    “Ande’ie?” Someone shakes me. “Princess Ande’ie?”
    My eyes snap open, squinting against the flashing red-and-white lights that pierce the semidarkness of the ship. At least there are no sirens.
    “Whew, you’re still with us.” The man sighs in relief.
    For a moment, I don’t recognize him. Then I vaguely remember he’s one of the warriors. He’s tall and broad, with long, wavy brown hair. He’s the only one of the Tuorian soldiers I’ve seen with a bushy brown beard. I search my brain for his name. Therin. “What happened?”
    “The Ardak ship exploded, and the shock wave blew us through the wormhole. Good riddance to those cats.”
    “How long was I asleep?”
    “About a day,” Therin replies.
    “A day?! Where’s Juordin?” I sit up, sliding my legs off the bunk.
    That’s when I realize he’s standing between