The Invisible Ring

to make sure the rest of us got to Dena Nehele. So get it into your stubborn little head that you’re going home tomorrow.”
    “I’m going to Ration’s Wood—”
    Jared spewed every obscenity he could think of.
    “Those people are my responsibility, Lord Jared. Mine .”
    Jared bared his teeth. “My Jewels are darker than yours, which makes me stronger. If I have to, I’ll truss you up in enough psychic restraints it’ll take your granny half a day to undo them all and dump you on your father’s doorstep. He may have yielded about letting you go in the first place, but if his balls still work, he won’t let you go again no matter what your grandmother says!”
    “How dare you say that about my father! What right do you have to make demands of me?”
    “ I serve you .”
    Lia shook her head. “No, you don’t. The others, yes, until the journey ends. But not you.”
    It felt like a large fist had just punched him under the heart. Jared stared at her, trying to get his breath. “I serve you,” he said hoarsely. “I wear the Invisible Ring.” The Silver Ring.
    “There is no Ring!” Lia raked her fingers through her hair. “There never was a Ring! It was only a bit of Craft my mother calls lightning and smoke to fool them so they wouldn’t question my not using the Ring of Obedience.”
    “I wear your Ring,” Jared insisted.
    “Listen to me, you feather-brained mule. There is no Ring . I made it up. AH of it. Whoever heard of an Invisible Ring?”
    Daemon Sadi.
    But he didn’t say that. He took the verbal blows, unwilling to consider why they hurt so much. “Why?”
    Lia took a couple of wobbly steps and made it to the chair before she fell down. “You’re a good man, Jared. And you’re a strong Warlord.”
    “You couldn’t have known that about me.”
    “I’m a Queen,” she said wearily. “I knew. But as you just pointed out, your Jewels outrank mine, and there was a lot of hate in you that day. I couldn’t leave you there, and I couldn’t control you.”
    “You could have used the Ring of Obedience.”
    Lia paled. “Do you—” She swallowed hard. “Do you think I could have used that—”
    Either she couldn’t think of a word obscene enough or couldn’t bring herself to say it.
    No, Jared thought as he carefully sat on the edge of the bed. She couldn’t have used the Ring of Obedience.
    “I knew I couldn’t control you,” Lia said. “And I couldn’t afford to fight you. I thought you’d escape as soon as your body healed. Then you folded up inside yourself and I didn’t know what to do. I kept thinking you’d go. As soon as you realized there was nothing holding you, you’d go.”
    But something had held him back.
    Jared rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at his feet. Had she really counted on him going at the beginning of the journey? Had she counted on one less male to feed? Or ...
    He looked up. She watched him so carefully, as if she were trying to gauge the impact of her words.
    “I wear no Ring,” Jared said, watching her with equal care as he remembered how well she could put on an act when she felt it was necessary.
    “You wear no Ring,” Lia agreed. She looked away.
    “You have no claim on me.”
    “None.”
    “If I walk out of this room, what will you do?”
    “Meet the others in Ranon’s Wood and take them to Dena Nehele.”
    “Why?”
    When she looked at him again, he saw a Queen with shadows in her eyes.
    “I took them out of Raej. I hold their lives in my hands because of that choice. So until we stand within the borders of Dena Nehele, they’re my people, Lord Jared.”
    And he wasn’t? Oh, no, she wasn’t getting away with that.
    Smiling, Jared walked up to her and held out his hands. “Time for bed. We need a good night’s sleep if we’re heading for Ranon’s Wood at first light.”
    She looked wary, but she slipped her hands into his.
    “You know,” he said pleasantly as he helped her to her feet, “I’m going to have to remember how good a liar you are when your back’s against the wall.”
    “What?” Lia said weakly.
    He kept a firm grip on her hands. “I’ve spent this entire journey chasing my own tail because I couldn’t sense the Ring in order to confirm that it existed. If you’d told me a couple of days ago that you had made it all up, I would have believed you.”
    “Why won’t you believe me now?” Lia wailed.
    Jared gave her a sharp smile. “Because we had help last night. A Warlord Prince I know did the healing. Just before he left, he confirmed that I wear the Invisible Ring. The Silver Ring.”
    Lia tried