Rayne's Return (Hearts of ICARUS Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

remember?”
    “Soon,” Landor said. 
    “I suppose there’s no way around it,” Con said with a sigh, earning surprised looks from Landor and Ari.  “We hurt her feelings.  I hurt her feelings.  I’m not looking forward to doing that again.”
    “It wasn’t just you, Con, it was all three of us,” Landor said.  “As much as I hate the idea of hurting her again, we can’t lie to her, either.”
    “I know,” Con agreed.
    “But,” Landor added, “I don’t think it’s something she needs to deal with right now.  When the time is right, we’ll know.”
    “As long as we don’t wait too long,” Con said.  “The longer we wait, the more difficult it’ll be for us all.”
    They fell silent as Rayne shifted in her sleep, then watched for a few moments to be sure she hadn’t awakened.  After a few moments they relaxed and Ari turned to his brothers.  “Give me a moment to get the first aid kit from the bathroom.”  They nodded and he hurried away at blurring speed.  A couple of seconds later he returned with the kit in his hands.  “Go on, now.  I won’t leave Rayne alone for a single moment, I promise.” 
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    360 Days in the Future
    Rayne was drifting somewhere deep within her mind, floating just above a sea of black despair, and below full awareness.  It would be so easy to just let go and sink down into the cold, dark depths of her mind, releasing reality and sanity altogether.  And yet, every time she thought about giving up, the faces of three men appeared in her mind.  Three men with black hair and striking eyes that she barely knew and would probably never see again.  They gazed at her in absolute silence, but their eyes begged her to hang on, to be patient, to wait just a little longer.  She’d tried countless times, but she could never bring herself to deny them no matter how much they’d hurt her.  This time was no different. 
    There they were, exactly as they’d been the last time she’d seen them.  Ari with that stray curl falling over his forehead no matter how many times he pushed it back.  Con with his solemn green eyes and a crease in his brow, his hair pulled back in a low ponytail.  And Landor, twisting the heavy golden ring on his finger, his violet eyes fixed on her unwaveringly. 
    As an adult she’d only seen them that one time on the mesa, in the dark, on Garza, and she’d been more preoccupied with their conversation than their appearance.  Because of that, she strongly suspected that she’d manufactured all of those details about them in her own mind, but there was no way to be sure. 
    After a time, the images faded, as they always did once the urge to give up had passed.  After a few moments she turned her attention to the music she’d been working on for what seemed like forever.  There was something about the crescendo that she wasn’t quite satisfied with yet.
    “Are you awake Tanjelia Dracon?”
    Rayne’s eyes flew open, her heart going from a calm beat to a thundering gallop in an instant.  It wasn’t the strange voice so much as the fact that it had spoken her sister’s name that fully awakened her.  The idea of the little blue thugs getting their hands on one of her sisters was absolutely terrifying. 
    She looked from side to side as best she could from her prone position, seeing nothing but the same array of monitors and machines around her that had been her only view for so long that it was sometimes difficult to remember a time when they weren’t there.  She tried to move even though she knew perfectly well that, except for her eyes and facial muscles, nothing would respond.  Finally, she reached out with her senses, searching for Tani while at the same time hoping she wouldn’t find her.
    “Whom do you seek?” the voice asked, startling her again.  This time she realized that the unfamiliar voice with its unfamiliar accent was in her mind, not her ears.
    Rayne had always been able to feel her