CHAPTER 5
Jakob
The world shouldn’t have felt different because of one human woman, and yet somehow it did.
Jakob walked beside Mallory and led her along the narrow pathway that led back to the resort. Their boots crunched softly and pines rose on either side of them like silent sentinels.
He was painfully aware of the rhythm of her steps, the soft hitch of her breath when the path grew steeper, the warmth that radiated from her even through layers of winter clothing.
The night was cold and crisp, but her presence felt like a roaring forest fire that was spreading, searing everything in its path, and impossible to ignore.
He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be anywhere near her.
Humans are fragile, his mind screamed. But his dragon warned him with a rumble in his gut. She is ours.
Jakob clenched his jaw. “Stop,” he muttered under his breath.
Mallory slowed and glanced up at him with a puzzled smile. Moonlight caught in her hair and turned it almost silver. “Sorry? Did I miss a turn or something?”
“No,” he said quickly and forced his expression to remain neutral. “Nothing. Just… thinking.”
They continued on, but Jakob veered from the main trail and angled toward a stand of denser trees. It was an unconscious decision to not take her back immediately, but one that he appreciated when he recognized it.
The air seemed to change as they left the marked path behind. This was an area that few knew. It was a hidden path that could only be accessed by royals who carried dragon blood. Humans weren’t supposed to ever know of its existence, and he’d been sworn to secrecy long ago never to betray that.
And yet the pull to show her something beautiful, something uniquely his, was stronger than his caution. He couldn’t have stopped himself if he had tried.
Mallory glanced around as she noticed the shift in direction. “This doesn’t look like the way back.”
“It isn’t,” he admitted.
She hesitated for half a step, then caught up with him. “Should I be worried?”
He stopped and turned to face her. “You trust me?”
The question slipped out raw and honest.
Mallory blinked up at him, and he read the surprise that flickered across her face before it softened into something else. “Should I not?”
His chest tightened painfully. “You should always be cautious,” he said quietly. “Especially with me.”
She studied him for a long moment, as if weighing his words. Then she smiled and he saw sincerity. “I’ll risk it.”
Gods.
She had no idea what she was saying. No idea how deeply those words cut, or how fiercely they lodged themselves into his soul, he needed to figure out how to guard his heart.
They walked on until the trees opened abruptly and revealed a pristine lake.
It lay before them like a sacred secret that the mountain had been keeping.
The surface was as smooth as polished glass and reflected the stars in perfect clarity.
Frozen plumes of ice rose along its edges and caught the moonlight.
Snowflakes drifted through the air and sparkled as if the night itself breathed magic.
Mallory stopped dead.
Her voice spoke with a reverent sound. “Jakob…”
He followed her gaze even though he’d seen the lake a hundred times before. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said quietly.
But he was no longer looking at the lake.
She stepped forward slowly, as if afraid the vision might vanish if she moved too quickly.
“It feels unreal. Like we walked into a painting.”
“A very old one,” he replied. “This place remembers things.”
She turned back to him, eyes bright. “You really didn’t have to bring me somewhere this special.”
“Yes, I did.” He motioned to the lake. “Come on. Let’s walk out there.” The lake breathed cold up at them through a thick layer of ice that would keep them safe.
Mallory, of course, didn’t know that.
She edged closer to the shoreline. “It’s really frozen, right?”
“Yes,” Jakob said matter-of-factly. He forced himself to soften his tone. “This lake has held far heavier than us.”
She glanced back at him. “That’s comforting. I think.”
He almost smiled. Almost.
She tested the ice with one cautious foot, then another, and Jakob heard the sigh of relief under her breath when it held.
The sound hit him harder than it should have.
She was so alive that he would never put her in danger.
His dragon stirred, pleased by it in a way Jakob didn’t allow himself to examine the knowledge too closely.
Mallory took another step, then another, before she lifted her arms instinctively for balance. “Oh. Oh wow.”
“You’ve never skated,” he realized.
She shot him another look over her shoulder. “I’ve seen skating. That counts for something.”
“It does not.”
She huffed, but her smile stayed. “You sound very confident for someone still standing on solid ground.”
Jakob hesitated only a moment before he stepped onto the ice beside her. The surface didn’t so much as creak beneath his weight. He could feel every hairline fracture and every layered sheet of ice from winter's long past. The lake welcomed him. More importantly, he could feel it welcome her.
Mallory noticed his confidence. Of course she did. “You’re not even wobbling.”
“I won’t,” he said simply.
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s not fair.”
He extended a hand before he could overthink it. “Come here.”
Her gaze dropped to his fingers. Hesitation flickered before she placed her bare hand in his.
The contact sparked.
Not fire. Not heat.
Something deeper. Something that settled into him like it had always been there and was only now remembered.
Her balance faltered as soon as he drew her closer, and she let out a startled laugh and clutched his arm with her free hand. Jakob tightened his grip instantly, as steady as the mountain itself.
“I’ve got you.”
“I’m noticing,” she breathed.
He guided her slowly and carefully with small, deliberate steps. Her boots slid instead of lifted, which was both awkward and endearing. Every time she wobbled, instinct roared through him. Protect her.
“You’re doing fine,” he told her, though she was clearly not.
“I’m doing something,” she corrected and laughed again when her foot skidded sideways.
Jakob adjusted without thinking and pulled her closer so his arm was firm around her waist. He felt her warmth through the layers meant to protect her from the cold. It wasn’t enough and made him yearn for more contact despite his own logic.
Her hand tightened at his sleeve. “If I fall, I’m taking you with me.”
“That won’t happen.”
“That sounds very final.”
“It is.”
She looked up at him then with bright eyes that sparkled with excitement. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to the two of them on the lake with the stars above and the ancient ice below, and something dangerous and beautiful tightened in his chest.
She tried again and pushed off with a little more confidence this time. Jakob let her move and stayed close but didn’t hold her quite so tightly. He matched her pace easily and guided her with subtle pressure, the way a mother bird might guide a fledgling through first flight.
She caught on faster than he expected.
“I’m doing it,” she whispered and he heard the wonder that crept into her voice.
“Yes,” he said. “You are.”
He wasn’t talking about skating.
Snow drifted down around them and flakes caught in her hair and melted against her cheeks. The frozen water reflected it all. A dragon king and a human woman, impossibly caught up in something bigger than the both of them.
Mallory laughed again, freer this time, and spun just slightly toward him. The movement brought her too close and her boots crossed uncertainly.
Her feet went right out from under her.
Jakob reached out and caught her upper arm before she could fall. Her eyes fluttered, and her breath brushed his throat, which sent a shudder straight through him.
“You keep doing that,” she whispered.
“Doing what?”
“Saving me.”
He held her a heartbeat too long. Then another.
“I always will,” he said, his voice gruff and gravely.
The truth rang and his dragon stirred in fierce agreement.
Her lips parted. Her eyes searched his, as if she felt the shift too, the invisible line they were standing on.
Jakob steadied her and stepped back abruptly. His hands curled into fists at his sides. He couldn’t lose control. Not here. Not with her so close, so warm, and so completely unguarded.
Mallory frowned and hurt flickered across her face. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” His voice came out hoarse. He cleared his throat. “You said exactly the right thing and that’s what’s wrong.”
She blinked. “That’s as clarifying as mud.”
A humourless chuckle escaped him that was half laugh and half frustration. “We should head back.”
Before he did something unforgivable. Before his dragon stopped listening. Before he tasted the lips that he couldn’t stop looking at.
Mallory nodded slowly, though confusion and unmistakable disappointment flickered in her eyes. She headed off the ice, careful this time, and he forced himself not to reach for her even though he stayed close.
As they turned back toward the resort, Jakob felt her emotions like they were carved into his bones.
And the ache inside him grew sharper with every step away from the lake.