And she let herself rest in that hope, with Jakob’s hand in hers, as the healers worked to send her back to the world.
CHAPTER 27
Jakob
Jakob had flown these mountains a thousand times, yet this time they felt entirely new.
The wind carved cold ribbons along his scales as he rose higher, and his wings caught the updrafts with practiced ease. Below them, the jagged peaks of the mountains rolled outward in shadowed blues and silvers under the bright moonlight. Above, the sky stretched endless and open with stars scattered as if someone had flung handfuls of light into the dark.
And tucked safely against his chest, Mallory laughed. It had been over a week since she was injured, but now it was time to go home. Home, with him.
The sound vibrated straight through him.
He angled one wing slightly and corrected their course toward the distant glow of the castle, and he felt her fingers curl tighter against the ridge of his scales. Her excitement poured through their bond like warmth from the fireplace, bright and alive. It hit him harder than the cold air ever could.
She wasn’t afraid. That, somehow, still stunned him.
Mallory leaned into the rush of wind and he could feel her heart race, but with exhilaration and not panic. He felt it in the excited giggles she let out every time he banked sharply or climbed higher than the clouds.
She trusted him. The knowledge settled deep, heavy and heady.
Jakob dipped suddenly, just enough to make her gasp, and then he laughed at her reaction, an instinctive rumble that echoed through his chest and into the open sky. Her delight spiked in response, and he felt tingles all the way to his tail when she ran her hand across his scales.
“Show-off,” she said in a breathless voice. The word carried affection rather than reproach and he made a silent vow to himself to show off as much as he could.
He curved his wings and surged forward. The world blurring beneath them as they sliced through the air. Snow-dusted pines streaked past far below. The castle loomed closer with every powerful beat of his wings, its towers etched in gold light against the dark.
He loved this freedom of flight that he didn’t get to experience very often. Strength hummed through every muscle and he felt like the sky bent to his will. But more than that, he loved sharing it with her and feeling her wonder and joy.
It made his heart purr, both human and dragon.
As the castle rose to meet them, Jakob slowed and descended toward a small meadow hidden away by thick trees not far from the wide stone terrace. Discretion was everything, with or without Mallory with him. He touched down with careful precision and his claws scraped softly against the ice and snow as his wings folded in close.
The moment her boots hit solid ground, the shift rippled through him.
Scales melted into skin. Wings vanished. The cold night air felt sharper without them, and brushed against his bare arms as he straightened, human once more. He barely had time to steady himself before Mallory turned and threw her arms around his neck.
Her laughter was still riding high from the flight, cheeks flushed, eyes bright.
“That was incredible,” she said, voice breathless. “I’ll never get tired of that.”
Neither will I,he thought.
Aloud, he managed a crooked smile. “We just have to be cautious about when and where we fly. There are eyes everywhere, but the royals have been successful in hiding their secret for generations.” He stroked her face. “I’m proud of you. You didn’t scream once.”
She grinned. “I trusted you.”
Those three words undid something in him.
Before he could respond, she rose on her toes and kissed him.
It wasn’t tentative. It certainly wasn’t careful.
It was full of leftover adrenaline and unfiltered joy. Her hands slid into his hair as if she needed to anchor herself after the flight. The contact sent a jolt straight through him both raw and electric.
Jakob froze for half a heartbeat before instinct took over.
His hands came up and grabbed her waist as he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss without thinking. The world narrowed to the warmth of her mouth, the faint scent of snow and wind still clinging to her clothes, the way her excitement shifted into something slower and more intimate.
