Freedom's Fall Read Online Free

his arms to his sides. “I think what
she needs most from us is time.”
    Rye placed a heavy hand on Dev’s shoulder. “You’d better be
right, my brother. Because if I’ve been sitting on my hands when she’d rather
we made a move, I will personally break every bone in your wrong-call body.”
    Dev acknowledged the threat with a nod. “I’ll consider
myself on notice.”
    The trouble was that Dev was as clueless as Rye. He didn’t
know what Tansy needed—he was simply relying on instinct and his desire to do
the right thing. Hopefully when their houseguest was ready she would come to
them and ask them for what she wanted. And with any luck, they’d be able to
give it to her.

Chapter Two
     
    Tansy curled up on the sofa with a pen and paper, scribbling
out her thoughts and feelings, trying to sift through the crap without digging
too deeply into the experiences that had created them. She was determined to
face what had happened to her and to find a way to get past it. What she didn’t
need was a day-by-day inventory of the pain and degradation she’d suffered. So
she tried, with varying degrees of success, to separate her emotions from the
events that had created them. Writing down her feelings was a trick her mother
had taught her from a very young age. She was firm in the conviction that once
those emotions were out of her body and on the page, their power to hurt was
greatly diminished.
    Tansy had scribbled herself stupid, but she was under no
illusions about how hard her road to recovery was going to be. She was on her
fourth page and starting to flag when she was given a very welcome distraction.
    With a pop and a shower of mid-air sparks, her little friend
Oskaal appeared. He was average size for a dragonet, about three meters long
from nose to tail, and his particular color scheme ranged from bright gold to
dark chocolate. The sun danced across his scales in a river of sparkles and the
lower edge of his wing membrane was embellished with fluted ovals that
resembled the design of a peacock feather. He was fine-boned, appearing more
seahorse than dragon, and he loved nothing more than to curl up in her lap and
be stroked to sleep.
    All the Earth women living in the den had been assigned a
dragonet companion. They couldn’t talk mind-to-mind like the battle dragons,
but the dragonets could pop in and out at a moment’s notice and run messages.
Tansy had been told that if a dragonet spent enough time with a person they
could track him or her anywhere on Gemarra. The Enforcers thought the dragonets
were a good insurance policy—in fact they’d already
saved Sorcha’s life—but Tansy valued Oskaal most for
his company. He was smart, interactive and entirely without judgment. He was
the perfect cross between a friend and a pet.
    Oskaal flew down to the couch and pushed the notepad out of
her hands, cramming himself onto her lap and giving an impatient trill. He was
determined to be petted to sleep, and Tansy was happy to oblige him, sweeping
her hand down the length of his back from head to tail. He shuddered with
pleasure, a steady purr rolling in his chest. The vibration and heat from the
dragonet acted like a soporific and Tansy could feel herself relaxing. Her mind
fell quiet and she sank back onto the couch, the tension draining out of her
body.
    When Sorcha called out to announce her presence, Tansy was
slow to rouse. Oskaal had no such problems. His purring stopped and he jerked
himself to his feet. Standing half on the couch and half on Tansy, he glared at
the doorway.
    Tansy smiled in welcome as Sorcha entered the room, but
Oskaal sent a mean and deliberate hiss her way. The dragonet was clearly
unhappy to have his nap time interrupted.
    Sorcha’s smile was equally mean. Her bright-red hair flowed
free to her waist and her pale-green eyes sparked when she looked at Oskaal.
She stalked across the room, the elegant motion of her body given power when
she fixed her hand on her hips. Tansy stroked her