His dragon rumbled, insistent and low.Find her.
“I don’t even know if she’s still in the mountains,” Jakob muttered.
Find her.
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe through the pull in his chest. But memory betrayed him and all he could focus on was Mallory’s shaky laugh in the cold, the way she’d clutched his coat like she already trusted him, and her scent carried on mountain wind.
The doors behind him burst open again from the wind and he groaned. If he remained invisible much longer, someone would seek him out.
Fresh laughter assaulted his ears as he left the sanctity of the balcony. New arrivals entered the hall, their awe audible in every gasp and whisper. Jakob didn’t pay any attention.
Not until he heard a soft, startled intake of breath. He pivoted and found Mallory behind him.
For a heartbeat, he didn’t recognize her. But her scent gave her away. Maybe it hadn’t been a memory a moment before.
Gone were the sweater and leggings and practical layers meant for cold and climbing. Tonight, she wore a gown the color of winter moonlight, simple in cut but elegant. The fabric swirled softly around her like fresh snow. The bodice fit her perfectly, modest but flattering, and a thin silver chain cinched her waist.
Her hair was swept up with loose curls escaping to frame her face. Someone had braided a thin ribbon through it that caught the light when she moved.
She looked breathtaking and wildly out of place.
Her eyes were wide and her lips parted as she stared at him. He saw the realization crash into her all at once.
“You,” she breathed.
Jakob forgot how to breathe at all.
Heat surged through him, sharp and possessive. His dragon rose and roared approval, and Jakob had to grip the table to keep himself steady.
Mallory’s cheeks flushed pink. She glanced back at her friends clustered uncertainly behind her, then back at him, clearly unsure whether to bow, curtsy, or flee.
He crossed the space between them before she decided.
Whispers erupted behind her.
When he stopped in front of her, Jakob softened his expression into something warm and familiar. “You made it down the mountain safely, then.”
She swallowed. “You’re… the king.” She said it like the title physically knocked the air from her lungs.
“Did the crown give it away?” He tapped the piece of metal on his head before he leaned closer, just enough that she had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze. “Does that change anything?”
“Um, ya think?” she squeaked.
“Mal…” one of the girls started. “Is this… I mean, did he…”
“He’s the freaking king!” the other girl exclaimed.
A quiet laugh slipped from him, low and rough. “It doesn’t have to. I’m still the man you met earlier.”
Her blush deepened and spread down her neck.
Mate,his dragon growled.
Jakob stiffened. “No,” he whispered under his breath.
He had shared beds with countless women. He enjoyed the mock chase, the pretend innocence, the attention, the ease of it all. But none of them had ever looked at him like she did. She stared like he was dangerous and kind and overwhelming all at once.
He forced his inner instinct down and buried it beneath discipline and duty. Gods, it was hard with her standing there, wrapped in candlelight and looking like she belonged somewhere she didn’t yet know how to claim.
