“You won’t wait,” Sven said.
“No.”
Sven’s mouth curved into something like a sad smile. “Then promise me one thing.”
Jakob hesitated. “What?”
“Don’t die proving you’re brave,” Sven said. “Live long enough to be rescued.”
Jakob let out a shaky breath. “That’s not how this usually goes.”
“I know,” Sven said. “But indulge an older, wiser friend.”
Jakob nodded once.
As he turned to leave, Sven spoke again. “Jakob.”
He paused.
“You are not alone,” Sven said. “Even if you ride ahead of us.”
Jakob didn’t trust himself to answer. He just inclined his head and left.
The cold air outside hit him like a slap as he headed after her. Mallory’s phone was heavy in his pocket and every unanswered second screamed in his ears.
Hold on, he thought fiercely.I’m coming. Even if it kills me.His dragon stirred and demanded release. Jakob wasn’t sure he would be able to control it once they found Mallory.
Find her, it growled.
And for the first time ever, Jakob wasn’t thinking like a commander.
He was thinking like a man who refused to lose her.
CHAPTER 24
Mallory
The mountains closed in around her as Mallory neared the area that she hoped was close to the rendezvous point. She kicked herself for leaving her phone behind, but she also doubted that there would have been a signal anyhow. As much as she had studied the pin included in the text message, she figured she was close.
The air was thin and cold. Each breath burned her lungs but she used the freezing temperature to remain alert as she continued on. The path narrowed as she stepped through a crevice between the rocks, and by the time she stepped into the clearing, her legs trembled but not just from the climb.
She’d made it as close to the meet-up location as she was able but instead of that knowledge bringing relief, it brought dread.
Mallory wrapped her arms around herself and forced her thoughts away from the distance she had traveled. Away from the fact that there was no easy way back. And most importantly, away from Jakob.
The thought of him hurt more than the altitude or physical exertion.
She’d left without a word. Slipped out like a coward. She could still see his face in her mind when it was focused, controlled, and trusting her to stay where he put her. The trust in that hurt the most.
Because she loved him.
There it was. The truth she’d been circling for weeks that finally cut clean and deep. She was head over heels, no turning back, terrifyingly in love with Jakob. With his steadiness. His quiet intensity. The way he looked at her like she mattered in a way that she never had before.
And she might have just destroyed everything between them.
Mallory swallowed hard and blinked back tears. Leaving him and disobeying him might be unforgivable. He might never look at her the same way again.
She straightened her shoulders. But Meg was her sister which had to count for something.
