Page 117 of Return of the Nine

It made sense, but it was beyond what she was used to on Gaia.

They returned to the VIP area and Deniir’s quarters.

The scent of cooking food made Ula’s mouth water. Darthuun was in the kitchen with an apron tied around his waist and his wings tightly folded to his back.

“Good evening, Master Designer.”

“Please, call me Ula, Master Engineer.”

“Ula, call me Darthuun. Feel free to refresh yourself before dinner.”

Ula looked at Deniir and gave him a knowing look. “I suspected you would say something like that. I will be out in a moment.”

She took her bundle to her assigned room and headed for the en suite lav.

A quick light shower and some hair brushing later, she was ready to try on one of the dresses.

The white dress was her choice for the evening, but it didn’t go with her hair being down. Sighing, she twisted her hair up intotwo buns, one on either side of her head. It exposed her neck and gave her better presentation.

With the dress hiding her bare feet, she tiptoed out into the common area where she was treated to the sight of two men in the kitchen and a platter of small bite-sized items on the table in the conversation area.

“Is there anything that I can do?” She offered it even though she had no clue what was going on in that kitchen. Utensils that she had never seen before were being flipped around casually.

The two men turned and looked at her before Darthuun quickly turned back to the meal. “No, Ula. Please have a seat and a snack. Deniir will bring you something to drink. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.”

She went to the comfortable seating area, and she took a position that would allow her to watch the goings on in the kitchen. Two men with wings were making her dinner and one of them was pouring her a drink. She was going to wake up anytime now.What a pity.

Chapter Six

Sitting and enjoying the appetizers while the food was under a heater nearby was peculiar. Generally, Ula ate as soon as her food was hot.

“So, what do you think of our little facility?” Darthuun munched at one of the vegetable and cheesy appetizers.

“It looks well organized, and I can hardly wait to play with some of the designs that I came up with today.”

Deniir blinked. “Damn. I forgot. Just a moment.”

He disappeared into his quarters and emerged with a flat screen. He slid a stylus out of the side and settled next to her on the backless couch she was sitting on.

He ran through a quick tutorial, and when she started to make notes, he nodded with approval. “You catch on quickly.”

“Well, I am reading this in Gaian, so it makes it easier.” She bent her head and made a few more notes.

When Darthuun’s laughter reached her, she looked up and blinked.

“I don’t understand. What was funny?”

Deniir’s cheeks took on a darker colour. “Nothing. My father is simply very old and rather insane.”

She looked back to the data pad and flicked through until she saw what she was looking for.A Gaian Guide to the Nine.

She flicked past the other members until she found the mating habits of the People of the Light.

Her hands tightened on the data pad, and she heard it protest her grip. “I see. So, I am not reading this in Gaian. I am reading it in Nine Common.”

Darthuun was still amused. “Apparently. I have beenspeaking our tongue to you since you arrived this evening. My son seems to have invaded your mind.”

“My speech centre, certainly. I did wonder why all the engineers were so easy to understand when Deniir had made it clear that they hadn’t learned Gaian yet.”

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