The guard nodded and headed out. Jakob turned back to Lars who sat at the table mumbling to himself.
Lars slapped the table. “If only she hadn’t left. We never would have come into town if we got the ransome. This whole thing is so stupid.”
Something sent a cold chill up Jakob’s back. He sat across from Lars. “Who left?”
“Oh. I don’t…I mean…I just…”
“You were going to kidnap someone?”
“Just for the ransom. Someone always pays a big ransom.”
“Who?”
Lars glanced up and froze as he stared at Jakob.
“Tell me,” Jakob growled. His restraint was quickly cracking. He watched all the remaining color drain from Lars’ face and was afraid the kid wouldn’t speak again.
Lars squeaked. “Some woman. She was here and we were supposed to grab her, but she… well, she was always with you. And then she just left before we could do anything.”
Jakob snapped as he realized they were after Mallory. The room shook as his inner power ripped free of its leash. Jakob seized Lars by the throat and lifted him effortlessly. Fury rolled off him in waves.
“You will tell meeverything,” Jakob snarled. “Who planned it. Who knew she was here. Who thinks they can touch what is mine.”
Lars’ eyes were wide and terrified. Jakob dropped him back into the chair.
“Because my restraint ends here,” Jakob whispered. “And if someone is after Mallory, I need to know. Right. Now.”
Six months of restraint shattered in an instant. He needed to find Mallory.
CHAPTER 14
Mallory
The professor’s office smelled faintly of old books and musty paper. It was the kind of place where secrets of the natural world were catalogued and tamed. Mallory sat on the edge of her chair with a notebook clutched in her lap and tried to keep her pulse steady as Professor Swinson adjusted his spectacles and studied the photograph on his screen.
“This,” he said as he tapped the image with a pen, “is a subspecies that hasn’t been documented yet. Nothing I have found is quite like it.”
Mallory leaned forward despite herself. When she had submitted her term paper proposal, she had included a photograph she had taken while on holiday of a unique little plant that she thought was beautiful. She had no idea that it was actually a new variant. The plant’s leaves were long and serrated with veins that glowed faintly blue in the right light.
“You’re serious?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“Oh, absolutely,” Swinson replied. “I never joke about the discovery of new species. If it’s related to the family of plants that I think it is, this little darling may contain potent anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties. It may have theability to accelerate tissue repair or even neutralize certain toxins.” He glanced at her. “If even half of that is true, it could be groundbreaking.”
Mallory swallowed. “And it’s only found in…?”
“The Iskara Northlands,” he finished and turned away from the screen to look at her. “These varieties only grow in that region. Specifically the province that surrounds Onyxheim.”
There it was. The place name landed like a blow to her chest.
She inhaled sharper than necessary but managed to keep her face neutral. Inside, her emotions erupted. Iskara. Jakob. Snow and heat and the way her heart had learned things it had never quite unlearned.
“I know it’s remote,” Dr. Swinson continued, obviously having mistaken her reaction, “and not exactly welcoming. But you’ve already done fieldwork there so your prior experience actually makes you one of the few candidates I’d trust with this.”
Mallory forced a smile. “Yes. I…well, I remember it well.”
Too well.
“This could be an excellent term paper,” he went on. “Original research. Firsthand observation. Possibly samples, if local regulations allow. I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t think you could handle it.”
