King Sven.
Jakob’s hand tightened on the balcony rail. Asking Sven for help meant swallowing pride sharp enough to draw blood. The dragon bristled at the thought, low and furious. So did Jakob.
But a king who refused counsel was a king who doomed his people.
With a slow, steady breath, Jakob straightened.
The best course of action was counsel with King Sven, even if it tore at what little pride Jakob had left.
He set out before the sun broke over the horizon.
Stagholt’s streets were quiet in the early morning hours. King Sven met Jakob in the high hall with open hands and wary eyes.
“Jakob,” Sven said, clasping his forearm. “You look thinner.”
“The dragon isn’t,” Jakob replied dryly. Royals didn’t have to hide their inner secrets.
Sven snorted. “That’s usually the problem.”
They spoke first of borders and raids, of how Sven had shattered the Skelvarn leadership months earlier. He had jailed their leaders, burned their caches, and ripped away their relevance. Ruecrags, Sven explained, were what remained. Those who were too bitter to surrender and too broken to rebuild.
“Desperate men,” Sven said. “They don’t want victory. They want impact.”
Jakob’s jaw tightened. “They’ve found it.”
Later, after maps were rolled away and the hall emptied, Bryn entered quietly with a tray of cups. Human and mated to Sven. Mallory instantly blasted into his mind.
Jakob’s dragon also noticed immediately.
It rose, alert and watchful, every sense sharpening but not with hunger, but with a fierce, unsettling protectiveness.
Bryn smiled at Jakob as she set down the drinks. “You’re welcome in Stagholt as long as you need, King Jakob.”
Her gaze held no fear.
Jakob inclined his head and was careful to remain still. “You rule a brave house.”
“I rule a stubborn one,” she corrected gently and rested a hand on Sven’s shoulder. “And I married into it.”
“Do you ever regret leaving your old life behind?” The question slipped out before he realized he spoke.
She shook her head and kissed her husband’s cheek. “Not one moment.”
When she left, Jakob exhaled slowly, as though he’d been holding his breath the entire time.
“She knows what you are,” he said.
“And chooses me anyway,” Sven replied. He poured the drinks and dismissed the guards. “That part was harder to accept than the danger.”
The worddangerechoed.
“I loved a human woman once,” Jakob admitted.
Sven waited silently.
“I still do,” Jakob admitted. “Every instinct in me wants to bring her back. Lock the gates. Burn the world if it comes too close.”
“And instead?”
