Alien Invasion: A Warrior Prince Romance (The Tourin Legacy - Part 1) by Immortal Angel Page B

the
worst.

3
Juordin
    Fuck! An Ardak invasion. Can things get any
worse?
    I feel the familiar frisson of anger go down
my spine. My string of curses continues as I load the last of my
cargo into my shuttle. The screaming is bringing back memories I’ve
been trying to forget. I can feel my hands starting to tremble with
rage. I clench them into fists.
    I should have known the damn hairballs would
hit this planet next.
    I came here myself because it was the next
closest planet to the last one they hit. My time is rather
limited.
    Good thing I got here tonight. Tomorrow this
whole damn planet will be contaminated.
    Making my cargo that much more valuable.
    I feel for these people. But I know the
terror they feel tonight at an alien cat invasion is nothing
compared to what they will feel tomorrow when the fucking cats
release the toxin. They have no idea what’s about to hit them. But
I do, and I’m getting the hell out of here before it does. There’s
nothing I can do about it, anyway. Or I would have saved my own
people.
    The tiny space behind the general store is
barely large enough for my shuttle, but I had to make do. The
people on this world haven’t invented motorized automobiles yet.
Which means they don’t have planes much less space flight, and my
invisibility force field doesn’t work on the ground. I don’t want
to frighten them too much with tech they haven’t seen before.
    I look back toward the main street one last
time. The Ardak landers have a luminescent glow, lighting up the
area for miles. A young woman runs past the building, screaming,
until one of the overgrown cats hits her from behind with an energy
blast. Too late.
    Just as I slam the cargo door shut, I hear a
battle cry from the street out front. I haven’t been in battle on
this world, but that cry is damn near universal. I turn to see a
fierce warrioress sprint down the road in the opposite direction of
the last, leaving a trail of dust behind her. She’s chased by a
helmetless Ardak, her swords flashing. I jog to the front of the
building, just to see what she’ll do.
    She darts into and among the screaming horde
of people, heading for the Ardak lander. A high, springing kick
worthy of any of the high jumpers on my planet knocks the weapon
from another feline soldier in front of her.
    A few months ago, I would have joined her. She doesn’t yet realize it’s pointless.
    Her valor is a fearsome thing to behold. Her
own people offer no help, crying and screaming as they run
heedlessly down the street in all directions.
    She fights her way through the crowd with
her two flashing swords, dodging past others who make her battle
more difficult in their efforts to flee. She kicks the lander
pilot, who tries to grasp her as she springs by him. But Ardaks are
notoriously slow with their metal exoskeletons. Slow, but damn near
impossible to injure through the suit unless you’re close enough to
get the helmet off. Which is one of the main reasons the cowards
use the toxin to kill their enemies.
    But the warrioress fights with the fury of
three Ou’lin zintars—feral, fierce, jumping, spinning, kicking,
punching, even biting the ear of the Ardak that lost its helmet.
Her double short swords flash quicker than the eye can follow.
    Unconsciously, my hand goes to the hilt of
my sword. Help the female. She’s reached the lander, but
three Ardaks have surrounded her. She’s taken care of their
weapons, but she can’t pierce their metal exoskeleton armor. It’s
only a matter of time before they take her bare-handed.
    Are you really this much of a bastard,
Juordin? You will let this woman die right before your eyes? Where
is your honor?
    Shit.
    I growl and draw my sword, running forward
and springing into the fray. I behead the first Ardak with no
helmet, surprising him from behind. His feline yowl is cut off
quickly, but not before it raises all the hair on my arms.
    The warrioress glances at me and, for a
moment, I catch a glimpse of wide, green