Since Garth was the only one nodding as if that statement made sense, Jared wondered if he’d feel less confused if he banged his head against the table a few times.
Then he looked at Lia, and the trickle of amusement faded.
The Queen and the Black Widow who sat across from each other were suddenly strangers to him, filled with a wild unknown. There was something dangerous about the way they sat so still, so quiet.
“Jared, since you wear the darkest Jewel, you’re going to be the web’s focal point,” Lia said.
Great. Wonderful. Mother Night.
Jared shifted uneasily. “What’s it supposed to do?”
“It will give the weakest of you the protection of the strongest,” Thera said in that voice that made all the men shiver. “Through the strands of the web, all of you will be connected. A strike against any one of you will be absorbed by all of you. The Red Jewel will feed the web and keep it strong.”
“It sounds fine as a defense,” Talon said, “but Jared won’t be able to hold it long if they start unleashing their own Jewels.”
“They want Lia alive,” Thera said, staring at the circle drawn on the table. “They won’t risk a full attack until they have her.”
“Even if they do nothing, he still can’t hold it forever,” Talon argued. “And they’re not going to get bored and just go home.”
“Ten minutes,” Lia said. “Once the signal’s given, he only has to hold it for ten minutes.”
Only.
Jared wanted to laugh, but he was very afraid it would come out sounding hysterical. Didn’t they realize how many Hayllians were surrounding Ranon’s Wood?
Thera slashed a look in his direction—as if she’d heard the laughter. “You held Red shields against the marauders for that long.”
“There weren’t as many of them,” Jared said testily.
Thera shrugged. “They were fighting, always draining the shields. The Hayllians won’t be attacking with any strength. Alive, Lia is a valuable hostage. If they’d wanted her destroyed, the village and everyone in it would be gone by now.”
“When the Hayllians start to advance, everyone wearing the Jewels will provide a token resistance, gradually retreating toward the Coaches,” Lia said. “Jared will remain here in the tavern, where he can watch the road.”
“I can—” Jared began.
“Your task is to defend,” Lia said sharply.
“I don’t like it,” Randolf said, shaking his head. “We’re not going to achieve anything. Gaining a few more minutes won’t change the outcome of the battle.”
Thera’s eyes were ice with a hint of green. “You don’t have to like it, Warlord. You just have to obey.”
After silencing Randolf with a searing look, Talon fixed his gaze on Lia. “With respect, Lady, I say again—this web you and Lady Thera devised is an admirable protection, but it won’t get us out of here.”
Lia raised her chin. “Yes, it will.”
Frustrated, Jared raked his fingers through his hair. “How?”
They said nothing.
Seeing his own hurt mirrored in Blaed’s eyes, Jared pushed aside bruised feelings.
Blind trust. In the end, it always came down to blind trust because it was the ultimate test of the bond between a Queen and the males who serve her.
“It’s time to start,” Thera said, rising.
Silent, all the men except Jared, Talon, and Blaed left the room. When Lia rose, the three men formed a triangle around the two women, Talon automatically taking the point while Blaed and Jared each flanked his own Lady.
“Prince Talon, your presence is required,” Lia said when they stepped outside. She moved out of earshot and waited for the Sapphire-Jeweled Warlord Prince to join her.
Jared’s muscles quivered at the formal request. Before he could decide whether or not to insist on being part of that private conversation, Thera dragged him back inside the tavern.
She gave him a brittle smile that was probably meant to reassure him but, instead, turned his guts to water.
“I need some of your blood,” Thera said, holding up a small pewter cup. “For the web.”
Power sang in the blood. Life sang in the blood.
And trust, like love, was one of the heart’s songs.
Jared pushed up his sleeve and offered his wrist.
She was quick, gentle, and far more careful about healing the nick in his wrist than he would have been.
Giving him another brittle smile, Thera put the cover on the cup and dashed to the Coach she and Lia were using to prepare this Queen’s gamble.
Stepping outside again, Jared eased closer to where Lia and Talon were still standing.
“If that’s what you want,” Talon said grimly, “a fast—”
“I told you what I want from you,” Lia replied. “Exactly what I want. Will you do it?”
Jared eased closer. The fierce unhappiness in Talon’s face made his heart beat strangely, as if it couldn’t decide to pound until it burst or just fade until it stopped.
“Promise me, Talon.” Lia gave Talon’s hand an urgent squeeze.
Talon looked at their clasped hands. His fingers curled around hers. When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy. “I swear by the Jewels and all that I am that I’ll do exactly as you asked.”
Leaning forward, Lia swiftly kissed Talon’s cheek. “Thank you.”
Then she noticed Jared and stepped back, blushing.
Still watching Lia, Talon’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Then his attention shifted to Jared for a moment. “If you’ll excuse me, Lady, I have some preparations to make.”
“Of course,” Lia murmured.
As Talon walked past Jared, he muttered, “May the Darkness have mercy on me,” and kept going until he reached his Warlords.
“Lia,” Jared said quietly, taking a couple of steps toward her.
Lia retreated. “I—I have to help Thera.”
There were shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep. There were shadows in her eyes, hiding so many things.
And there was that something he should understand about Jewels and psychic links that was still teasingly just out of reach.
“Lia, what is the Queen’s gamble?”
“What it’s always been.” Lia licked her lips. “That the males she’s assigned certain tasks to will perform those tasks exactly as requested. That they won’t allow themselves to become distracted by whatever else is happening—or whatever else they think is happening.”
“Lia . . .”
Her hand clamped on his forearm. “Jared, you must hold the web. You must. Everything depends on it.”
Jared swallowed hard. “I’ll hold it.”
What he saw in her eyes took his breath away.
Lia tried to smile. “I have to help Thera.”
When she tried to move away, he reached out and gathered her in his arms. “Once more,” he whispered, lowering his head. “Just once more.”
He kissed her gently, deeply.
Confused, he released her and stepped back. “Go help Thera.”
Jared watched as she hurried away from him. There was a tartness to her psychic scent that shouldn’t have been there. It didn’t fit her. Wasn’t like her.
“Jared.”
Putting that puzzle aside, Jared turned at the sound of Talon’s voice. “What did she ask of you?” Jared demanded.
Talon gave him a considering look. “You know better than that.”
Yes, he knew better than to ask another male about a private request made by a Queen, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to know the answer.
Talon looked around, as if to make sure there was no one near enough to overhear them. Moving closer, he said quietly, “You’ve played chess with her?”
“A couple of times.”
“Does this fit her pattern?”