Thera immediately swiped at the remaining guts and started tearing at the gauzy material wrapped around her middle.

Jared stared for a moment. He pushed her hands away and ripped the material. Tossing the gauze aside, he gingerly wiped her belly with a piece of her tunic.

No shattered bones. No torn flesh.

Jared leaned back. His hands curled into fists. “You sneaky little—You tricked us!”

“I tricked them,” Thera snapped. “You were supposed to ignore it.”

“I was supposed to ignore it?” Jared said mildly as anger started to heat his blood.

She eyed him. Grabbing the tunic, she scrubbed at her belly. “We figured you were going to be a little upset about this,” she muttered.

Even his teeth felt hot. “Upset? I thought I saw Lia get ripped apart right in front of me, and you figured I’d be a little upset?” He paused. Thought. Exploded. “You idiot! Do you realize how lucky you were that whoever unleashed that Jewel didn’t go for your heart or your brain?” He shook her hard enough to make her squeal. “You could have been killed! Who—”

She didn’t have to answer.

Talon strode down the street, stepping over Hayllian bodies, kicking pieces out of his way.

Did Talon even see them? Jared wondered as he leaped up to intercept the furious Warlord Prince.

“Damn you, Lia, I did as you asked!” Talon roared. “A strike to the belly. Not even a fast, clean kill, but a strike to the belly!” His eyes filled with tears. “Damn you for cutting out my heart, I did as you asked!”

Jared grabbed Talon’s shoulders. “It was a trick, Talon. This is Thera, and she’s all right. It was a trick.”

Talon made a slashing gesture with his hand. “Then what’s all that spewed in the street?”

“Pig guts,” Thera muttered, scrubbing harder.

They stared at her.

She cringed.

Maybe it was mean-spirited, but after the scare she’d given him, Jared relished being able to intimidate her.

“Pig guts?” Talon said in disbelief.

“Pig guts,” Jared said, nodding slowly. “When they butchered the pigs yesterday morning, our little Black Widow toddled away with two large buckets of offal.” He smiled at Thera.

She whimpered.

Talon’s soft snarl grew to a roar. “I should take you over my knee and wallop some consideration into you!”

“Once the Hayllians surrounded the village, this was the only way we could win the fight,” Thera said with a bit of her normal fire.

“You could have told us,” Jared snarled.

“You would have yelled at us, and we didn’t have time for that.”

He and Talon did more than yell. With their arms locked around each other, Jared wasn’t sure if he was holding Talon back or if Talon was holding him.