Freedom's Fall (7 page)

She shook her head. “My fear of falling. At some point he
hit on the idea of taking me up to the roof of the Residence, wrapping me in a
force field and throwing me over the side of the building. Sometimes he’d
engage the force field straight away, sometimes he’d wait until I was almost at
ground level before he switched it on. Over and over, night after night. Until
I broke.”

A rough, hiccupping breath escaped her and her chest
squeezed tight. She tried to stay numb but the humiliation burned inside her,
hot enough to thaw the cold.

She peered through watery eyes at Dev’s blurry form. “I’m so
ashamed.”

“No, no, honey. Don’t say that.” He moved closer, pushing
himself against her so she was wedged tight between them. “Willersby
Lockmehdyhn is an evil, morally bankrupt dead man walking. The shame is his.
The damage is his. The blame lies at his door and no other.”

She nodded because Dev seemed to need it, not because she
was without blame.

“How did he make you choose?” Rye asked.

“I don’t think I can.” The mere thought of it made her want
to puke. She had no idea how she was going to hold it together if they made her
say it out loud.

“You’re safe here, Tansy,” Rye said. “Dev and I won’t judge
you, but if we’re going to help you properly we need to understand. You have to
tell us everything.”

Could she? Did she have that kind of courage left in her?

Her stomach roiled in a vicious snarl and her voice came out
little more than a rasp. “He would take me up to the roof and drop me over and
over until I begged him to stop. And he would stop, as soon as I promised to be
his good little whore. Then he would take me downstairs and…”

“Go on, you’re nearly done.”

Rye pulled her closer and she curled up between them. “And
he’d make me choose. I could choose to suck him off, or I could go back to the
roof. I could choose to lie on the bed and spread my legs, or I could go back
to the roof. I could debase myself in front of his friends or—”

“That’s enough, Tansy.” Rye pressed his lips to her head and
kept them there. “We get the picture. And baby, I’m so, so sorry that happened
to you. If there was any way we could take that experience from you, we would.”

Of course they would—they were warriors to the bone and they
would always want to defend and protect.

“This doesn’t change how we feel about you,” Dev said. “It
makes me admire you and respect you even more than I did before. You are not in
any way less in my eyes.” He moved so his arms wrapped around her and Rye, and
Dev laid his head on the nape of her neck. “You are more. You are ours. You are
everything.”

And that was when the cathartic tears finally came.

After her storm of cleansing tears, Tansy took a leisurely
bath, using the time to pull herself together. It was more than an hour before
she got to finish breakfast in company with a quietly comforting Dev, and she
was just finishing up when Rye entered the den from the exterior door. He wore
dark-gray leather pants and tunic with black, knee-high boots. His autumn-blond
hair was pulled back neatly in a low ponytail in what Tansy always considered
his “work look”.

“I thought you and Dev were off-duty today,” she said,
laying her utensils on her plate and pushing it away from her.

“We are. I had an errand to run and we thought it would be
easier if it seemed official.” Rye came over to the table, pulling out a chair
and positioning it so he sat at right angles to her. “Dev and I had a
discussion while you were in the bath and we came up with a temporary fix.”

“Maybe,” Dev added. “If you want.”

Tansy leaned back in her chair and shook her head. “Too
cryptic. Just spit it out.”

Rye grinned and threw a small, neatly wrapped package onto
the table. “I’ve just been to see a friend of ours, an apothecary. I didn’t
give him the who or why, but I did explain to him what we needed.”

She frowned at him. “Still cryptic.”

“What we have here,” he said, gesturing to the package, “is a
special blend of herbs. They’ll send you to sleep for a little while and when
you wake up you’ll feel alert and refreshed.”

She stared at him. Then the package. Then back at him. “You
want to drug me?”

“No,” Dev replied. “What we want is to give you some
normalcy. We want to take you to the market for some sunshine and fresh air,
and dragonback is the only mode of travel.”

Rye nodded, his lavender eyes sparkling. “One moment you’ll
be in our den, then after you sleep for a bit you’ll wake up in a field on the
outskirts of town. It will seem like you’re part dragonet, popping out of one
place and into another.”

“And it’s safe?” As soon as the question was out of her
mouth she knew she was stupid to even ask it. Her Enforcers would never put her
at risk.

“Yes, it’s safe,” Rye replied.

Dev pulled her up out of her chair. “It’s also temporary, so
don’t get too used to it. This is a short-term measure until we can figure out a
way to tackle your fears.”

“Which ones?” Tansy muttered, allowing herself to be pulled in
to the strong heat of Dev’s chest.

He stroked his hand down her back. “All of them. Just not
all at once.”

And thank god for that.

Rye stepped in behind her, sliding his hands under the silk
of her tunic to rub her bare stomach. “Go get changed into something
conventional.” His hands crept up to cup her bra-covered breasts. “And for the
sake of my sanity, wear a proper bloody corset.”

Tansy stepped out of their arms, laughing, both at the fact that
her new underwear drove them crazy and at the fact that she’d spent so much
time around Rye he was using her swearwords.

The standard attire for a woman on Ivasta consisted of an
array of clothing that would have made an Edwardian princess swoon. Half boots—which
Tansy privately loved—silk stockings, garters, long frothy petticoats, chemise,
the dreaded corset and a bustle. Strangely enough, all that layering and
ladylike covering up didn’t include panties of any kind, so she bowed to
tradition and went commando.

Her outer gown was an ornate concoction of cream-and-rose
brocade and boasted fitted sleeves, rounded neckline, tight waist and a floor-length
skirt. All the lacing, trussing and buttoning made Tansy feel so confined she
could hardly breathe, and it was impossible to dress herself. As a consequence
of needing help from her men, getting dressed took far longer than it should
have. It was also a lot more fun.

The ladies of Sapphire township also wore their hair up in
elaborate designs that went far beyond Tansy’s meager abilities. The best she
could do was to braid her ponytail and wrap it in a round bun, pinning for all
she was worth.

It was strange not to feel her hair swinging against her
back, and the confining tightness of the corset made her aware of her body in a
way that was surprisingly sexy. And she was naked from the waist down under her
petticoats, so her body was almost throbbing when she finally joined her men in
the lounge room.

They both stood, and the appreciation in their eyes stirred
the throbbing into an ache.

Dev smiled and held out his hand. “You look beautiful,
Tansy.”

“Thank you.” Crossing the room, she slipped her hand into
his strong grasp.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Rye handed her a glass half-filled with a liquid that
looked, and no doubt tasted, like viscous dam water. “You need to drink it all
at once.”

She hesitated. “What about the ride home?”

Rye pointed to a flask on the table. “We’ve got it sorted.”

Of course they did. She smiled at her men, ignored the
pitching roll of her nervous what-am-I-doing? stomach and took the glass from
Rye. It suddenly hit home just how far gone she was for these men. She would
rather drug herself than miss out on spending a day in the sun with Rye and Dev.
She winced at the way her fuck-ups kept accumulating.

Before any of them could change their minds, she raised the
glass, knocked back the contents and let the shudders take her as the revolting
brew slimed its way down her throat.

Rye swung her up in his arms and she snuggled in, relaxing
against him as he carried her to the lair. The dragons were saddled and waiting
in the landing area, and the moment Dev settled in Fellescend’s saddle, Rye
handed her up. They were just buckling her into her harness when she let out a
contented sigh and sleep took her.

Dev should have been happy. Cradling his woman close, flying
with Fellescend while his best friend flew a bare wing-tip away, the sun on his
back and the wind in his hair. It should have been perfect. Joyous.

But Tansy was breaking his heart.

She was so courageous, so gutsy, it was agonizing to see her
fall and get back up, only to fall again. Willersby fucking Lockmehdyhn was
living on borrowed time. Dev knew killing that little prick wouldn’t help Tansy’s
recovery, but it would help him to sleep at night. He and Rye had promised to
care for and protect their woman, and Dev didn’t see how that vow could be kept
while Lockmehdyhn drew breath.

The township grew closer and Dev tucked his dark thoughts
away. He didn’t want anything to spoil Tansy’s outing, and after everything she’d
shared this morning she was bound to be sensitive to his and Rye’s moods.

The dragons landed in a small clearing, and once the
Enforcers dismounted they tucked themselves between the blacks and waited for
Tansy to wake. Once she was fully alert, the three of them headed toward the
market while Fellescend and Zenbaylan once again took to the air.

Ion storms were frequent on Ivasta, so everyone considered a
full day of clear skies an opportunity to be grasped with both hands. The
market was busy, vibrant and crossed all social classes and age groups. Dev
preferred the quiet solemnity of the libraries in his spare time, but he was in
no way immune to the festival atmosphere of market days.

He squeezed Tansy’s hand. “What do you want to see first?”

“I want to see all of it.” She pointed to the first row of
neatly laid-out stalls. “Let’s start there and work our way up and down the
aisles.”

He shot a grin over her head at Rye. Their woman was nothing
if not methodical. Resigned to walking past every stall in the market, Dev
shortened his step, slowed his pace and let Tansy guide them wherever she
wanted to go.

She seemed fascinated with everything she saw, asking
questions, rubbing those soft, smooth fingers over items as varied as fruit and
jewelry. She even stopped at stalls showcasing weaponry and leatherwork. A few
times Dev offered to buy her an item that took her fancy, but she always
refused. He wasn’t sure what was behind her reticence and he didn’t push to
find out. She had enough to deal with already, and today was supposed to be fun
and relaxing for all three of them. Besides, he could always come back and buy
her something next time.

Hours later they were still strolling, and Dev could no
longer ignore his empty stomach. “Let’s get something to eat.” This was his
third attempt to convince Tansy he needed food.

“In a minute,” she replied, not turning her attention away
from the dinnerware she was perusing. “Just let me get to the end of this row.”

Dev peered around her back, and when he saw how many stalls
they still had to traverse, his stomach squeezed. “I’ll be dead by then. Nothing
left of me but skin and bone.”

Offering the stall-holder an apologetic nod, he wrapped his
arm around Tansy’s waist and began steering her toward the food area.

She craned her head around to catch Rye’s attention. “Can’t
you do something? I wasn’t finished.”

Rye clasped her free hand and tugged her along. “I’m with
Dev on this, I’m afraid. I’m hungry too, and it’s not as if the stalls won’t be
there when we come back.”

“Yes, but I might miss out on a bargain.”

“A bargain?” Dev asked. “You haven’t let us buy you anything
all morning. I’ve lost count of the bargains you’ve passed up.” Then his
stomach growled, loud enough to make Tansy’s eyes pop.

“Okay,” she snickered. “Food it is, then.”

Once again Tansy went to every stall, just so she knew what
was on offer before she made her choice. Dev was ordinarily a patient man but
Tansy was pushing her luck when she got between him and decent meal. When they’d
decided on their orders, Dev got into line for the food and Rye wandered off to
get drinks. Tansy continued to stroll, peering at the variety of food, chatting
to the stall-holders and tasting whatever samples were on offer.

Their order was so large the grinning proprietor placed it an
oversized canvas bag free of charge. Stomach rumbling, Dev eased his way out of
the crush and searched for Tansy’s dark head. He didn’t see her immediately but
he wasn’t too worried. Rye was still in his queue and no doubt Tansy was with
him.

But when Rye turned and came toward him, there was no woman
by his side. Their eyes met across the space, over the heads of countless
townsfolk, and Dev knew the panic in Rye’s eyes was reflected his own.

“Tansy!” He dropped his packages, the food forgotten, and
began pushing his way through the crowd, frantic with the need to find their
mate. He shouted and kept on shouting, but she didn’t answer him. Fear clawed
his gut, cold and vicious, and he couldn’t even contemplate the thought that they
might have failed her again. She’d trusted them, she’d relied on them to keep
her safe, and now they couldn’t even find her.

Fellescend, do you know where Tansy is?

Isn’t she with you?
The question was threaded with a
dark threat, but Dev didn’t have time to deal with dragon arrogance.

Just answer the question. Can you find her?

You lost her? You lost my pet?
A spike of anger shot
down the link, along with an overdose of indignation.

Dev didn’t have time for dragon histrionics.
Fellescend,
please.

You are a terrible mate. We need to have a long talk
about your duties and responsibilities in regard to taking care of my
possessions.

Dev rolled his eyes and was about to wrangle his dragon back
on track when Oskaal popped into the air in front of him.

The dragonet will find her. At least he knows how to
execute his duties—

Dev cut the link to Fellescend and spoke to Oskaal. “I can’t
find Tansy. Can you track her for me?”

The dragonet gave an agitated trill and pumped his wings
until he was a body-length above the crowd. He turned a full circle, sniffing
and humming deep in his throat, then he stopped, trilled again and set off at
an angle away from the food stalls. Dev ran to keep up and Rye kept pace with
him, shoulder to shoulder as they raced to find their woman.

They’d barely traveled fifty paces down the aisle when
Oskaal darted off at a right angle. Unwilling to be left behind, Dev pushed
aside the stall patrons and vaulted over the sturdy wooden table. The back of
the stall was enclosed in a three-sided tent, and as the dragonet wriggled its
way through a gap in the corner fastenings, Dev unsheathed the knife from his
boot. In two swift slices the flap of the back wall swung free and Oskaal was
through it in a flash. Dev and Rye were right behind him, running across a
small alley before repeating the procedure in reverse on the other side. This
stall-holder’s fruit didn’t survive under the momentum and body-mass of two
fast-moving Enforcers. Dev kept going, not having the time or the patience to
deal with the chaos he and Rye left behind. Keeping his eyes on the sparkling
brown-and-gold scales in front of him, Dev focused on nothing but Oskaal and
the safety of their woman.