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

do to stop me.”
    Her father didn’t respond. His gaze was already back on his screen.
    Frustrated, she tapped her fingers on her leg, feeling precious seconds ticking away. She needed to change his mind before it was too late. She was twenty-one god-damn years old, she didn’t need her daddy to drop her off, and she certainly didn’t need the Fleet Admiral ruining any chance she had at a normal academy experience.
    “We both know why I don’t want to be connected to you here.” The idea of living in her father’s shadow forever made her feel as if the walls were closing in around her. “But you’ve got to admit, the less people who know I’m your daughter, the safer I’ll be.”
    There was a moment of silence. “This topic is closed.” Then, after a moment, he added. “We both know how gravely you want to be free of me, but remember, your people still need you. Whenever I call, your service to us will come above all else.”
    Like he would ever let her forget.
    She touched the small scar just below her hairline. “I remember.”
    Looking back out her window, she stared at the crowded dock. Spaceships of all shapes and sizes had come from many worlds to drop the next class of students at the prestigious academy. She wanted to be anonymous among them. To create a new life, a new reputation for herself based upon her own merit.
    At the same time, it wasn’t smart to push her father. She’d learned a long time ago that if she did, he would simply say no, and there wasn’t enough begging, pleading, or threatening in the world that would change his mind. But that left her few options in a situation like this.
    A lot of people said his decisiveness was one of the many reasons he made such a great commander of the Earth fleet. But it made a lousy quality in a father. He simply didn’t bend. Ever.
    “I hope William is here.” Her best friend was the one person who understood her complicated relationship with her father, and she’d missed him fiercely over the past few weeks.
    “I wouldn’t count on it.”
    She stiffened at her father’s response, not realizing she’d spoken her thoughts aloud.
    “It’d take a miracle for him to reach Turonga. Without a private ship, he’d need a great deal of money and a whole lot of luck to find someone able to fly him this far,” he stated, not looking up from whatever he was reading on his computer. “The Academy strives to accept its recruits from families of good-standing. A gardener’s son is hardly—“
    “You mean families with money.” Heat rushed over her as anger built.
    “Contrary to what you think of me, it isn’t his lack of money that concerns me as much as his race. Chamyions are gutless weasels. His father was a gardener. His father before him was a gardener, and if I was going to make a bet, I’d say this boy will be a gardener, as well. Working on a ship requires a certain… strength of spirit and will that his genetics simply don’t lend themselves to.”
    She clenched the plush handles on her seat and leaned forward. “You don’t know him at all. He’ll be here.” She paused only a second, not long enough to stop her words before they came. “Although we could’ve guaranteed it if we’d only allowed him to use our ship.”
    He lowered his computer and met her unwavering gaze. “If he can’t make it here on his own, he’ll never pass the test to get in. It would’ve been a waste of all our time.”
    She stood. “You just wait—“
    “Sit down,” he commanded, his tone no longer that of a father, but a captain. “This isn’t the time for female hysterics.”
    Every muscle begged her to do exactly the opposite. Her heart urged her to shatter his computer console against the window. But her mind knew how all of this would end, which was quite badly. He’d probably march her right up to the front door and announce her identity to the entire academy.
    With effort, she forced herself to sit.
    Her heart pounded. William had to be