Viola Grace - - Return of the Nine 03 - Hiding Read Online Free PDF

They are working on the bonding garden today. We can see any area except that one.”
    “It sounds like you are taking control of this outing. Good. I didn’t have anything planned.”
    He smiled, “We can see your spot later.”
    She grinned. “Good. It really is beautiful. A natural garden underground.”
    Daphne could tell that she had gotten his curiosity up, but he controlled the platform and took them to the build site half a mile from her home.
    She laughed as they approached. She would have had to be blind to miss the five stories of building that spiked into the sky. The building had a surprisingly organic look, as if it had grown from the stone beneath it.
    “That is quite something. It matches the surroundings quite well.”
    Apolan inclined his head. “We try not to stand out on any world we put an embassy on. Our worlds are far away, but we bring pieces of them with us.”
    She blinked. “Thathonic?”
    He nodded. “That is the home of my parents, yes. You really have studied the Nine.”
    She blushed. “I can’t help it. I have to learn. It is a compulsion.”
    “I don’t mind. At least you are taking an interest. It is better for both of us if you understand my society and I yours.” He smiled and brought the platform down in the centre of a manicured courtyard.
    The tour was extensive, and she was ravenous by the time they entered the gardens at the rear of the new facility.
    The grass had the standard purplish tinge of Gaia, but the rest of the flowers and trees were carefully potted and contained. Apolan took a small square out of the basket he had been carrying and flicked it out to provide them with a charming picnic area of layered silk.
    They ate, chatted and simply enjoyed the bright newness of the area around them.
    “How many of these buildings do the Nine have waiting?”
    “None. They have a fabrication department that crafted the layers over the last few weeks.” He packed away the remnants of their meal.
    “I have something to show you that was crafted way before last week. Can I pilot the platform?” Daphne’s tone was bright and eager. For years she had wanted to show someone her find, but since she had no social circle, there was no one to call.
    Apolan’s hands covered hers on the controls, his body was pressed against her back, and she was having a hard time focussing on their destination.
    “We are approaching your home.” With his chest pressed against her back, she could feel his speech more than hear it.
    “Sort of. A little further north and we are there.” She shivered against him before she stiffened her back and reduced the contact.
    With his help, she set them down neatly in a tiny glade within the ring of trees that surrounded her home. It was at the far north of the forest, a small green glade filled with some of the flowers native to Gaia. Daphne always felt calm when she was here. Serene, clean and right were the feelings that came over her in this place.
    “Daphne, where are we?”
    She could hear the wonder in his tone.
    “The expanse north of my home. This is my place to run and hide when the world grows dark. It relaxes me from the inside out.” She smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him along.
    “Where are we going?”
    She laughed. Joy was spilling through her as it always did when she was here. “You can’t see it from here. You have to walk to it straight on or the trees won’t let you see it.”
    The grasses were soft, the flowers bright sparkling white, stars against their deeply coloured bases. She tugged her bemused employer through the glade as he tried to look at everything.
    “This looks just like our…”
    She stopped and raised her brows, “Just like what?”
    “Never mind. What were you going to show me?”
    Daphne laughed. “This way.”
    She used the small stones in the ground to line herself up, and she hauled him toward the woods one step at a time.
    They moved together and the moment that the optical illusion faded, she