The Invisible Ring

still wore the Jewels and had the full use of her particular Craft.
    “Come on,” Thera said. “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes.”
    Hearing the familiar sounds of someone getting undressed, Jared hurriedly pulled on layers of clothes. If he added warming spells to them, they should keep him comfortable enough for the next few hours since his coat was soaked. Even Craft couldn’t instantly dry material. At least he didn’t think it could. The next time he met a hearth-witch, he’d ask her.
    The rustling on the other side of the blanket stopped.
    “Mother Night,” Thera said. “You’re a mess. Didn’t you miss any of the rocks?”
    Jared clenched his hands to keep from tearing down the blanket. He gritted his teeth to keep silent.
    She was hurt. She was hurt. She was hurt.
    All the training that had lain dormant for the past nine years came rushing back, overwhelming him with its fierceness. He wanted to lift his head and howl out his frustration. He wanted to hold her, yell at her, examine every bruise, and then kiss her to soothe the hurt.
    How dare she be so careless, jumping into the creek like that? She was lucky she only had bruises instead of broken bones. How dare she, a virgin who was so terrifyingly vulnerable to a male attack, make a journey like this without even one loyal male to look after her? Didn’t she realize how precious Queens were, how vital to the Blood’s survival? And how dare she create this frenzied need in him to protect without giving him the outlet of honorable service?
    Well, he’d be damned if he’d let her get away with it.
    Fuming, Jared vanished the traveling bag and called in his Jewels. Two thin, wooden, rectangular boxes floated in front of him. He opened the first one and stared at his Birthright Opal, the gold jewelry gleaming against the box’s black-velvet lining. He brushed his finger over the ring and pendant. He’d worn the pendant since the Birthright Ceremony he’d had when he was seven, but the Opal ring had been made just before he’d made the Offering to the Darkness and came away with the Red. It had been a gift from his parents for his eighteenth birthday.
    That was the only day he’d ever worn it.
    He closed that box and vanished it, then opened the box that held the Red. Except for a few desperate moments over the years when he’d slipped on the ring, craving the feel of it on his finger, he hadn’t worn the Red Jewels— hadn’t worn any Jewels—since the night he was Ringed. Slaves weren’t allowed to acknowledge their strength openly, not even the strength that was their birthright.
    He slipped the Red-Jeweled ring onto the third finger of his right hand. His left hand covered it protectively as he savored the bond that had been denied for nine years.
    Taking a steadying breath, he licked his lips and picked up the pendant. No clasp to break or open. Just a chain of carefully formed gold links, long enough to let the power in that reservoir rest beside his heart.
    He used Craft to put on the pendant. The cool gold settled around his neck, then warmed against his skin.
    As he vanished the wooden box, Jared realized it was very quiet on the other side of the blanket.
    Quiet and tense.
    They knew he’d called in the Jewels. Even during her moontime, the one thing a witch continued to channel power through was the controlling ring linked to the Rings of Obedience. The controlling ring—and the males in the court who served her—were her only defense against slaves who would have taken advantage of her vulnerability to break free or destroy her.
    Right now it didn’t matter if the Invisible Ring was linked to the controlling ring. The Queen who wore that ring was in no condition to fight him.
    Which made him angry all over again.
    He pushed the blanket aside.
    Thera rose from the other bench, defiant.
    Ignoring her. he looked at the young Queen now dressed in a long gray skirt and gray sweater.
    “Even if we don’t push the horses, we’ll be able to get back to the clearing before dark,” he said.
    “No.” The Lady chewed her lower lip. “We have to go on.”
    “There’s nowhere else to go,” Jared said, biting back his temper. “Short of dragging them, you’re not going to get anyone to go back to that creek. This road didn’t branch off anywhere between here and the clearing. We won’t make it any farther before nightfall anyway. We’re going back.”
    “We have to go on,” she said stubbornly.
    Jared ground his teeth and tried to find something to say that he