I’d rather not make an appearance again if at all avoidable. If you’d like to discover other parts of the mountains, meet me by your bird in one hour. ~J
It warmed her heart that he remembered the bird and that he had been considerate enough not to put her on public display again.
“Even though he’s probably covering his own royal butt,” she muttered.
It wasn’t even a question of whether or not she was going. Violet and Brooke had a day of shopping planned, so she wanted to be gone before they realized. She ate her breakfast as she dressed and left a quick note before she headed to where she had spoken to the starling.
The starling was gone when she met up with Jakob. After a quick greeting, they headed away from the population of Onyxheim.
A couple hours later, they’d gone farther than Mallory had ever gone before. She felt the difference the moment the air started to feel thinner in her chest.
She told herself it was fine. Plenty of people hiked higher than this all the time. Jakob certainly did. He’d mentioned offhandedly that this trail climbed deeper into the mountains than the ones she usually stuck to. He hadn’t sounded concerned, just factual.
She couldn’t deny that she never felt concerned for her safety when she was around Jakob. He was like her guardian angel, the poor man.
The trail had narrowed as they climbed, the packed snow had given way to something looser and quieter. The trees pressed in closer here, taller and darker. Their branches hung heavy with old snow and she wondered if it ever completely melted at this elevation. The world felt different and much bigger than she was.
Her legs burned, not painfully, but insistently. Her lungs worked harder with each breath sharp and cold as it scraped down her throat. She kept her focus on Jakob’s back and on the steady way he moved ahead of her like the mountain was an old acquaintance instead of something that demanded respect.
You could turn back, she told herself.
The thought came out of nowhere, and she shoved it away just as quickly. They weren’t lost. They weren’t in trouble. The sky was gray, sure, but gray didn’t mean dangerous. It meant winter. It meant mountains.
Still, unease prickled at the base of her spine with a quiet awareness that she was outside her comfort zone and much farther from control than she liked to be. She hated that feelingthat made her hyper-aware of every detail and every shallow breath.
“Are you okay?” Jakob had asked as he glanced back at her.
She hesitated just long enough to annoy herself. “Yeah,” she finally said and forced a smile he probably didn’t even need. “Just not used to this altitude.”
He nodded like that explained everything and slowed his pace a fraction. The gesture warmed her but made her a bit uncomfortable. She didn’t want to be managed and definitely didn’t want to be the weak link.
They were rounding a bend in the trail when the light changed.
Nothing dramatic and not all at once. Just enough that Mallory noticed the way the air seemed to suddenly still and not a branch moved on a tree.
But then the storm came out of nowhere.
One minute the sky had been a dull, unpromising gray and the next it collapsed into chaos. Snow began to fall in thick, blinding sheets and was whipped sideways by a wind that screamed through the pines like something alive and angry. The trail vanished beneath their feet within minutes, swallowed whole as the world narrowed to cold and noise and white.
Mallory’s first instinct was denial. Storms didn’t justhappenlike this. Not without warning. Not without time to prepare. But the sting of ice against her cheeks and the way the wind knocked the breath from her lungs argued otherwise.
Her teeth chattered as she stumbled and grabbed Jakob’s sleeve. The fabric was rough beneath her fingers and she clungto it like an anchor. “This is insane,” she shouted over the wind. “Are storms like this normal?”
Jakob slowed just long enough to look back at her. His dark brows were pulled low as snow clung to his lashes. His jaw tightened. “Not usually,” he said. His voice carried easily despite the gale, and it was steady in a way that made her chest ache with relief. He scanned the trees, eyes sharp, as he assessed the area. “We need shelter. Now.”
Fear bloomed hot and sudden in her stomach. Not the panicked kind, but the cold, rational fear that whisperedyou are not in control. Mallory nodded, even though he’d already turned away.
He didn’t wait for her answer. His hand closed around hers, warm even through her glove, and he pulled her forward with urgent strength. Mallory followed blindly, trusting him because there was nothing else she could do. The wind shoved at her back and snow stung her cheeks, but Jakob kept moving, sure-footed and purposeful as he guided her between dark tree trunks that groaned and swayed.
A traitorous thought slipped in:He’s done this before.Not the storm, maybe, but danger. Crisis. Leading instead of panicking. It unsettled her how quickly she leaned into that certainty.
Her lungs burned by the time she saw the small log shelter tucked against a rock face. Its outline was nearly erased by drifting snow. She would have walked right past it if Jakob hadn’t veered sharply toward the cliff.
“There,” he said.
Relief hit her so hard her knees nearly buckled.
He reached the door first and wrenched it open against the wind, then held it open enough to usher her in. Mallory stumbled over the threshold and nearly fell before Jakob slammed the door shut behind them.
