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unable and unwilling to help the survivor left on her own.
    Apolan was going to give Daphne whatever she needed, whether it was psychological, physical or financial. His family own five harvest worlds where they kept the plants happy and the animals healthy. It was peculiar for him to have been born a farmer and ended up an ambassador, but the Nine council wanted a presence on Gaia that was in tune with the planet. No one had any idea that a simple Gaian had beat them to it.
    He stroked her rich brown hair away from her face and admired the jewellery that she wore each and every day. His great grandmother had worn that same earpiece when she met his great grandfather. Dilora had not been too fond of Jenyak when she met him, but she adapted quickly. Their love had eventually become a Leoraki legend—two contrasting souls that had managed to find common ground.
    Apolan closed his eyes and embraced the feeling of his body synching to Daphne’s. He was hoping that he and his Gaian would repeat that very admirable tradition.
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
    “Daphne, the cavern has let us out.”
    The low voice in her ear sent shivers down her spine. “Hmm?”
    “Come along, my bonded mate, before it changes its mind.”
    Hands pulled at her, helping her to sit up. She opened her eyes to see Apolan’s concerned face near her own. With a sense of wonder, she lifted her hand and saw the thin pink line crossing three fingers. “It wasn’t a dream.”
    He sighed and lifted her in his arms. “No, it wasn’t. Come along. I don’t know how long we have been here, but we need to get back to the surface.”
    She leaned against him, her head spinning and senses overloaded. “Sounds like a good idea.”
    With her eyes closed, she could still feel the exact moment that he entered the glade once again. Her smile was genuine, and her breathing came easier. “That’s better.”
    “You feel it too?”
    She chuckled. “Oh yes. There is a reason that I never moved to the settlement. Nothing feels as good as this.” Daphne opened her eyes and looked up at the starlight streaming into their one small part of the forest.
    He set her on the floor of the flying platform and checked the chronometer. “Oh, thank goodness. It is the same night. We were only underground for a few hours.”
    She smiled and slowly got to her feet. “Is that all? It felt like the beginning of forever.”
    He turned to her in surprise. “Daphne, are you all right?”
    She took a step off the platform and walked a few feet away before she turned to him. “You hear them all the time, don’t you?”
    Understanding lit his eyes. “I do. You can hear them now?”
    Daphne looked into the dark of the forest all around her. Thousands of trees whispered to her in greeting. Congratulations were offered in low murmurs. Not congratulations for the bonding, but for the small bit of evolution she had just undergone. They considered it the height of sophistication for one of her race to understand them.
    She giggled, euphoric at the thought that she could understand the forest in which she lived.
    “You can commune with them tomorrow. I regret to disturb your first moment with the forest, but we need to report both of our discoveries to the Nine.” He gently wrapped an arm around her waist and steered her back to the platform.
    The forest’s consciousness thrummed through her, and she swayed gently, humming to herself as the song became part of her.
    Apolan watched her with a smile on his lips. “You were almost there on your own, you know. There was only a slight nudge needed to push you over the edge.”
    She grinned at him, “Thank you for nudging me.”
    He sighed, “You have no idea how I want to answer that.”
    She snickered, a happy giggle that continued until they landed at the new embassy building.
    Daphne sighed. “Why are we here?”
    “We have to register our union with the Nine. It is important that we lock it in with the registry office as quickly as we