"Anne Bishop - Black Jewels 00 - The Invisible Ring" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bishop Anne)

Thera's dismissal that scraped at his temper, but by the time he reached the
other men, he was looking for a fight. And the best target was the sulky boy
who had started all this. Grabbing Eryk's coat, Jared hauled the boy up
until he could look right into Eryk's startled blue eyes. Then he bared his
teeth, and snarled, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't beat the shit out of
you."
Eryk wailed, "I'm an aristo! My family's important!"
Pulling the boy so close their noses almost touched, Jared said with
murderous calm, "Well, now you're an aristo slave, and your family's not
here. But I am. You feeling cocky enough to take on a pissed-off Red-Jeweled
Warlord? Because I won't hold back or pull back." As his anger swelled and
became hot enough to burn away his control, Jared gave Eryk a fierce shake.
"Don't you realize what could have happened? You put us all at risk! Didn't
that aristo family of yours teach you anything about courtesy and honor? We
could have all been hurt because of you!"
"I don't care!" Eryk weakly pounded Jared's arms and shoulders. "I hate you!
I hate you! I hope she does hurt you!"
Jared shoved him. Hard.
Eryk's feet shot out from under him. With his arms frantically windmilling,
he landed on his back. Then he just lay there in the mud, looking up at the
circle of grim-faced, hard-eyed men. Jared wondered if, or when, Eryk would
realize Brock had been standing close enough to catch him and didn't. Brock
opened his coat and hooked his thumbs into his wide leather belt. He stared
at Eryk for a moment before meeting Jared's eyes. "Much as it shames me to
admit it, he and I come from the same Territory. So if we decide it's a
strapping, the duty falls to me."
Jared looked at the boy who, finally, began to realize the price of his
behavior and then at the tall, solidly built Warlord who had trained as a
guard. He didn't doubt Brock would apply his belt with the kind of force the
boy wouldn't forget for a long time, but he couldn't stop thinking about the
emotional blows that had been delivered in those boyish taunts-and he
couldn't stop thinking about the Lady's comment about some scars not being
visible.
"No," he said, knowing as he said it that he was declaring himself the
dominant male. Knowing, too, that none of the other men wore Jewels that
could challenge the Red, nor would they want to since having a dominant male
meant the others didn't have to deal directly with the Queen. Taking a deep
breath, he wondered if any of them could sense how much of a sham his
claiming dominance really was. But they just watched him, waiting, so he
crossed an invisible line he wouldn't be able to step back over unless a
darker-Jeweled male joined their group. "Until I say otherwise, the little
aristo Warlord is going to be Tomas's servant. He'll have to take orders,
fetch and carry, do anything Tomas wants. If he causes any trouble, Brock
will handle the discipline."
Eryk's face burned with humiliation. No one protested the judgment until
Tomas stepped away from Randolf.
"I don't want him," Tomas said, pulling his shoulders back and holding his
head up. It was hard to tell if there were tears mixed with the rain, but
the clenched fists and quivering lips told them how hard he was struggling
to keep his voice steady. "I don't want him. I know I'm just a half-Blood