The Exiled Earthborn Read Online Free PDF Page B

thing to do at the time. But if he died fighting this war, he would get to see only a fraction of this wondrous place he had come so far to find. It was no wonder Alpha had called it a “crown jewel” that the Xalans sought as a prize at the end of the war.
    Suddenly, a voice spoke behind him.
    “Quite a view, isn’t it?”
    Lucas turned. A young woman in a sapphire-colored dress walked slowly toward him. Her blond hair was done up in a series of twisting strands that must have taken hours to arrange. Her neck and wrists glittered with the starlight reflecting off precious stones. As she drew closer, the moonlight illuminated her face. Her eyes sparkled at a distance, and it became immediately clear she was awe-inspiringly beautiful, with each facial feature perfectly measured and placed. And judging by the silhouette of her dress, she had a figure to match.
    She stood next to Lucas without looking at him and put her hands on the stone banister in front of her, gazing out at the horizon. The guards hadn’t stopped her from approaching him, which meant she had to be someone of high importance, even in a room full of the most powerful people on the planet. Lucas had forgotten she’d asked a question. She asked another.
    “Did you have any cities like Elyria on Earth?” she asked. Her voice had a melodic quality to it that instantly made Lucas forget all about the stress of the party inside. He found his tongue.
    “None like this. We had a few great cities. New York, Paris, Dubai, but none could match this.”
    She nodded.
    “Yes, from what I understand your world was quite a bit younger than ours. But you do seem … civilized.”
    “Well, uh, thanks.”
    “You’re welcome,” she said with an earnest smile.
    She was still staring off into the distance, and had yet to make eye contact with Lucas. She put her elbow on the banister and rested her chin on her hand. Lucas was trying to guess her age. Twenty-five in Earth years maybe? But it was always hard to tell on Sora, with so many procedures to make anyone look young through genetic reconstruction or therapy.
    “Who are you?” he asked.
    She finally turned to face him. A nearby lantern revealed her eyes, which were a shocking spectrum with flecks of blue, green, brown, and gold, all surrounded by a dark violet ring. Lucas had never seen anything like it before. Her irises were more captivating than the entire galaxy of stars behind them.
    “I’m Corinthia, but most around here call me Cora. That’ll happen when everyone’s known you since birth.”
    “Since birth?” Lucas asked.
    “Well, if you can call it that. My parents spent trillions on the genetics, and I don’t even want to know where I was put together. A Vale has to be perfect, of course.
    “I hear you have one of your own on the way as well. I suppose congratulations are in order. The First Son of Sora and all that. I’m sure they’ll give him the best genes on the market. And probably some off market as well. Just avoid eyes like these,” she said, motioning to her own. “Even at a hundred million apiece, the coloring isn’t worth the light sensitivity.”
    “You’re a Vale,” Lucas said at last.
    “Yes, yes, I know, the pains of being the High Chancellor’s daughter. I must sound like a proper brat,” she said, rolling her eyes.
    Talis’s daughter. He could see the resemblance now, vaguely.
    “Not at all,” Lucas said politely, determined to pretend he knew who she was all along.
    “I do actual work around here, despite what they may say about me. I’m actually Chief Military Liaison for the Chancellor’s office as of last year, so we’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other. I hear you ship out with the Guardians in a week.”
    “So I’m told.”
    “Why would you enlist in the Initiative?” she asked. “You just got here after fighting a war, and now you want to jump into another one?”
    “Well,” Lucas said, “I do have a planet to avenge.”
    “And one to save as