The Exiled Earthborn Read Online Free PDF

…”
    “If he gives you any trouble, I can have him deployed to Thylium,” said Tannon. They both gave him blank stares.
    “The ice moon,” he clarified.
    Tannon glanced over his shoulder to where a large mustachioed man gave him a friendly wave from the other side of the massive banquet table. He returned it with a slight nod.
    “Ah, damn it,” he said, turning back to the group. “That’s Madric Stoller, and he’s about to talk my ear off for twenty minutes. Can you give me some backup?” he asked, turning to Asha. The man was indeed already starting to make his way around the table.
    “What’s in it for me?” Asha asked dryly.
    “He’s the second-richest man on the planet. Probably a good friend to make.”
    “He also ran against me last term for high chancellor,” Talis added.
    Asha shrugged.
    “Interesting enough, I suppose.” She turned to Lucas. “You going to be alright by yourself ?”
    Before Lucas could speak, Talis chimed in. “I will see to it he’s well cared for.”
    That was good enough for Asha and she turned to leave, her iridescent dress swirling. They met Stoller as he approached, and his face lit up with delight as he was introduced to Asha.
    “Come on,” Talis said to him. “It’s your turn to meet the masses too.”
    The next few hours were a blur. Lucas was paraded around to an endless array of dignitaries, nobles, provincial leaders, and planetary celebrities. Their names and faces all blended together after a while, and Lucas amused himself by trying to sample every piece of food on the central table at least once. A thought occurred to him as he was eating a pile of cubed red meat on a crystal plate while speaking to the Vice Emissary of Something-or-Other.
    “Where’s Alpha?” he asked Talis, who seemed glad to be talking about something other than the food shortage of the man’s province.
    “He was invited to the gala, of course, but he refused the offer. It’s hard to blame him, as I can’t guarantee many of these folks wouldn’t be cowering in fear if he were here. Only a handful of people in this room have even seen a Xalan in person. He’s down with the Shadow’s ship, working with our scientists.”
    Lucas figured that’s probably exactly where he wanted to be, but it would have been nice to have another friend around. Asha was currently surrounded by a throng of admirers hanging on her every word. Her hand gestures implied she was regaling them with tales of one of their past battles.
    “If you’ll excuse me,” Lucas said to Talis and the emissary, “I think I’m going to get some air.”
    “Of course, my dear,” Talis said, and the man next to her nodded. “Come find me later.”
    Lucas made his way through the crowd with all eyes on him. He figured that everyone he passed was probably dying to meet him, but knew they would be excommunicated by Talis if they bothered him without his permission. It was quite kind of her to make that rule.
    He walked through a pair of armed guards standing stiffly at two pillars near the edge of the room. An open doorway led out onto a small balcony. The noise grew quieter as he stepped out of the grand hall. The brilliant display of stars was there once more, and he could see two smaller moons embedded in the sky, one full, one just a sliver. He supposed he was on the other side of the palace now, as the three he’d seen before were out of sight.
    In the distance, tall spires of buildings glowed, lit up by pocket-sized null cores far smaller than the one that had powered their ship from Earth to Sora. Lucas wondered when or if he would visit the city of Elyria itself. Or anywhere else for that matter. The palace was gorgeous, but there was a whole new planet out there to see. He shipped off for military training in a week, and who knew what part of the world that would be in? Probably nowhere nearly as beautiful as this. Perhaps enlisting so quickly had been a rash decision, but it had seemed like the right