The Invisible Ring

said anything since he’d tossed her onto the gelding’s back. She had to be in pain. Her enduring it in silence reminded him why he was so furious with her.
    The moment the wagon stopped, Thera threw the door open and scrambled down the steps, almost falling in her haste.
    Wondering why she seemed so tense now that the danger was over—it was over, wasn’t it?—Jared reached up to help the Gray Lady dismount.
    And found himself reaching for a gray-eyed, dark-haired, young witch dressed in the Gray Lady’s clothes.
    She frowned at him. and said, “What’s wrong?” at the same moment Thera said, “I’m sorry.”
    Fury blinded him. Hell’s fire, he had hated witches who hadn’t made him this furious.
    Snarling, he clamped his hands around her waist and hauled her out of the saddle. As she fell forward, the Green Jewel hanging from a gold chain around her neck slipped out of the torn coat and tunic. Her gasp of pain and surprise—and the bruises already darkening on her shoulders and chest where she must have struck submerged rocks— stopped him from letting go of her until she had time to grab the gelding’s saddle to keep her balance. Then he stepped back, not trusting himself not to strike out.
    “Who are you?” he said roughly.
    “I’m sorry,” Thera said again.
    Looking puzzled, the witch’s gray eyes flicked to the men Jared could feel gathering behind him, to the children who had emerged from the wagon, to Thera, and, finally, to him.
    She started to raise her hand to brush back her tangled hair, but didn’t complete the gesture. Pulling what was left of her braid over her shoulder, she studied the dark hair, and then muttered, “Hell’s fire.”
    “ Who are you ?” Jared roared. He didn’t know which made him more furious: that his mind had been tricked into believing this was the Gray Lady or that his body hadn’t been fooled.
    She wobbled a little when the gelding shifted nervously, but she squared her shoulders and raised her chin.
    The admiration he felt for the strength and pride he saw in her eyes only fueled his temper, and the wild stranger inside him started howling at him to protect, protect, protect. He tried to push it away by reminding himself that he was a Ringed slave, but instincts that had been bred into Blood males over dozens of generations weren’t easily banished by a Ring or a word.
    In a commanding voice, she said, “I am Lady Arabella Ardelia. On the Gray Lady’s behalf, I’m taking you to Dena Nehele.”
    Behind him, Brock and Randolf swore quietly.
    Jared ground his teeth. Arrogant, stubborn, courageous, feather-brained little fool! Did she really think men like Brock and Randolf would just shrug and continue to obey her unless she used the Ring of Obedience and brutally revived their fear of the kind of pain it inflicted? Especially once they realized she was handicapped right now by more than physical injuries?
    He took a step toward her.
    “Stay back,”‘ she said, her body tensing.
    Jared bared his teeth in a savage smile. “You want me to stay back? Use the Ring .”
    Her eyes widened.
    Jared held his breath, waiting. She had to use the Invisible Ring now. She had to. She’d been able to avoid using it when he’d challenged her a short while ago, but she couldn’t now that he’d challenged her in front of the others. His Jewels outranked hers. He was a danger to her. If she didn’t use the Ring to pull him down, he could smash through her inner barriers and tear her mind apart. Damn her, she had to use it to protect herself, to reassert her control over all of them. She had to hurt him to prove that she could still brutally control the strongest male among them—and would inflict the same kind of pain on the others if the males didn’t continue to obey her.
    Instead, she let go of the saddle and tried to brace herself for a fight.
    Swearing, Jared closed the distance between them and scooped her up in his arms. “You don’t need a pleasure slave.” he snarled as he stomped to the wagon, “you need a keeper.”
    “I do not—”
    “Shut up.”
    “Jared,” Thera warned as he brushed past her and the children. “She needs attention and—”
    “In a minute.” He shouldered the door open and kicked it closed in Thera’s face. After setting his bundle of wet, bedraggled witch on the bench, he stepped back and leaned against the door, preventing anyone from interrupting them.
    One of the shutters behind the driving seat had fallen open during the wild ride. Using Craft, he closed it and created a