CHAPTER 19
Jakob
Jakob heard the shouting before they even reached the gate.
Sharp, frantic voices carried across the frozen courtyard, followed by the unmistakable metallic clatter of someone hitting the iron railings.
Jakob strode toward the commotion with purpose.
Mallory was back now, and every detail he could discover made a difference.
Every instinct he possessed had snapped awake.
Snow whipped through the air like tiny blades.
“Report,” Jakob barked.
Viggo fell back into step beside him after conversing with one of the others. His breath puffed out in hazy white clouds. “Six intruders. Possibly more on the outer ridge. They came over the wall with climbing gear. We intercepted them before they reached the dungeon wing.”
“Ruecrags,” Jakob said flatly.
“We believe so. There’s no reason to think otherwise.”
Another scuffle echoed from behind the stables. Jakob turned the corner in time to see one of his guards tackle a hooded man to the ground. Two more intruders were already restrained on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs.
The scene was chaotic but contained, exactly the way Jakob had trained his security teams to operate.
“They were trying to break their man out,” Viggo continued. “The one we captured the other day.”
Jakob’s jaw tightened. “Of course they were.”
He crossed to the nearest prisoner determined to get answers. An unkempt man with a bloody lip and a defiant expression glared at him as he approached.
“Who sent you?” Jakob demanded.
The man spat blood into the snow.
Jakob knelt in front of him, voice low and dangerous. “You’re on my property. You attacked my people. Start talking.”
Silence.
Another guard dragged forward an intruder who had taken a hard blow to the ribs. Jakob repeated the question but once again was met with nothing but stubborn, venomous stares.
They were either loyal or too terrified to talk. Possibly both.
“Search them,” Jakob ordered.
Within minutes his team began turning out pockets, confiscating knives, radios, and crude lock-picking tools. One of the guards approached Jakob holding up a battered cell phone sealed in a plastic pouch.
“Found this on the one who tried to run, sir.”
Jakob took it. The screen was cracked, but still functional.
“Anything useful?” Viggo asked.
“We’ll see.”
Surprised to see that there was no security on the phone to prevent him from doing so, Jakob swiped through the phone.
He scrolled past call logs and random contacts with no recognition of names or numbers.
At first it looked like nothing more than a burner phone with unremarkable messages about times and locations along with coded phrases that meant little without context.
From what he could tell, the phone wasn’t heavily used and frustration crept up his spine. But then one thread made him stop. A single text, sent earlier that day.
She’s back in town. Find her.
Jakob stared at the words. The various noises around him faded into a dull roar.
She.
Back in town.
Find her.
His blood went cold. There was no doubt in his mind who that message referred to.
Mallory.
It had to be Mallory.
The timing, the location, the sudden interest in Onyxheim and the castle. It all snapped together with sickening clarity. Ruecrags’ network had eyes everywhere. They’d been watching him for years with no real interaction.
Until now. Now that they were watching her, too.
Jakob’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Sir?” Viggo said cautiously. “Are you all right?”
“No,” Jakob replied. “I’m not.”
He turned back to the prisoners, fury coiling tight in his chest.
“Who is she?” he demanded, holding up the phone. “Who were you sent to find?”
Blank faces.
“Answer me.”
Nothing.
Jakob felt something dangerous stir beneath his ribs, a low burn of power that had nothing to do with the winter air. His dragon was too close to the surface.
“If any harm comes to her,” he said quietly, “you will regret your silence for the rest of your very short lives.”
The injured men exchanged glances, but none of them spoke.
Jakob straightened and shoved the phone into his pocket. “Secure them,” he ordered. “Lock them down. I’ll deal with the questions later.”
Viggo hesitated. “Sir, protocol dictates—”
“Protocol can wait,” Jakob snapped. “Right now I need to know where Mallory is.”
Understanding flashed across Viggo’s face. “Of course.”
Jakob didn’t wait for anything else and strode back through the castle doors. His boots echoed against polished stone as he headed straight for the guest wing.
Every step was driven by a single thought.
Please be in your room. Please be safe.
He knocked once. Twice.
No answer.
“Mallory?” he called.
Silence.
Jakob tried the handle. Locked.
“Housekeeping said she returned about an hour ago but then left again,” a passing maid offered nervously. “I haven’t seen her since.”
An hour. Right around the time he had left her to deal with the security issue. Jakob’s pulse kicked harder.
He checked the dining hall, the lounge, even the small library she’d mentioned liking. No sign of her. No coat at the door. No cheerful voice drifting down the corridors.
She was gone.
A cold, ugly fear began to spread through him.
This was exactly what he’d been afraid of. Exactly why he’d tried to keep her at arm’s length. His world was dangerous, and he had dragged her into it anyway. Jakob stopped in the center of the empty corridor and closed his eyes.
Think.
Security cameras. Asking the rest of the staff. All useful but too slow. If Mallory was in trouble right now, he didn’t have time for ordinary methods.
He needed something faster. Something older.
Jakob stepped outside and hurried to the back side of the castle, remote and away from the noise and lights. He let the familiar tension of magic rise to the surface.
He rarely used it this openly. Rarely allowed himself to rely on the ancient power that lived coiled in his blood, especially this close to so many people.
But this was Mallory and rules no longer applied.
He focused on her in his heart and in his mind. The warmth of her laugh, the scent of her hair, the steady beat of her heart he’d felt beneath his hand only hours ago.
Dragon magic responded eagerly and the world sharpened. Colors grew brighter and sounds clearer. And beneath it all, faint but unmistakable, he caught her scent on the wind.
Relief hit him so hard he nearly staggered. She was close but too far away. And moving even further.
Jakob followed the invisible thread out past the stables and beyond the snow-covered grounds, into the dense line of trees that bordered the estate. The farther he went, the stronger the trail became.
Fear prickled at him again. Why would she come out here alone at night?
The forest was quiet, heavy with snow and shadow. Moonlight filtered through bare branches and painted an abstract array of designs on the ground. He found her footsteps, relieved to see that she walked alone.
He slowed and moved cautiously. He reached the edge of the treeline and saw her.
Mallory stood in a small clearing with her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she stared up at the sky as if she were simply admiring the stars.
Alive and unhurt. And alone. He needed to get her out of there while they were still by themselves. Jakob exhaled for what felt like the first time in hours.
“Mallory.”
She spun around, startled. For a split second her expression wasn’t relief. It was pure shock and panic, with a little anger mixed in.
“Jakob!” she said, a little too brightly. “You scared me.”
The brightness sounded forced and thin around the edges.
Relief rushed through him so fiercely it almost made him dizzy. He crossed the space between them in seconds and barely resisted the urge to pull her straight into his arms.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
Up close he could see more clearly now. Her cheeks were pale beneath the moonlight, her eyes a little too wide. She looked less like a woman enjoying a peaceful night walk and more like someone who’d just been caught doing something she desperately wanted to hide.
She shrugged, a quick, jerky movement. “Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d take a little hike. The moon is beautiful tonight.”
Her voice wobbled slightly at the end and he didn’t miss the fact that her eyes darted around like she looked for someone.
“Are you meeting someone?”
“No!” Her voice rose a couple octaves. “No, not at all.”
For a fleeting moment Jakob thought she was going to burst into tears. The answer had come too quickly and too casually.
Jakob studied her face. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“So, you just went hiking,” he repeated.
“Just a short one,” she said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and refused to quite meet his gaze.
“In the middle of the woods. At night. In unfamiliar territory.”
Mallory lifted one shoulder. “I like fresh air.” She tried to be lighthearted but it came out strained.
Jakob folded his arms. She was lying. Every instinct he possessed told him so. After years of diplomacy and deception, he knew exactly what a forced explanation sounded like.
But why would she lie to him?
He stepped closer. “You should have told someone where you were going.”
“I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“It is a big deal,” he said. His tone was much sharper than he intended. “There was an attempted break in tonight with dangerous men on the grounds.”
Her eyes flickered with something but it vanished quickly. “Well, I’m fine,” she said. “See? No kidnappers. No disasters.”
Jakob searched her face and tried to piece together what he was missing. He’d been terrified for her. Absolutely terrified, and yet here she was, calm and composed and pretending everything was perfectly normal.
“Kidnappers?” He wondered if she knew about the Ruecrags. “Why would you think there was going to be a kidnapping?”
Another shrug. “I was just saying…”
“Mallory,” he said quietly, “are you sure you’re all right?”
“Of course,” she replied.
Another lie. He could feel it as clearly as the cold air on his skin. Something had happened. Something she wasn’t telling him but pressing her now would only push her further away.
But for the moment, having her safe mattered more than having answers. Plus, he needed to get her back inside and not stand there out in the open especially if she had expected company.
“Come back to the castle with me,” Jakob said gently. “Please.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Okay.”
As they walked together through the silent trees, Jakob kept one hand lightly at her back to guide her home.
Relief warred with unease inside him. He had found her, but the message on that phone still burned in his mind.
She’s back in town. Find her.
Someone was looking for Mallory.
And judging by the fear he’d seen flicker in her eyes tonight, she already knew it.
Jakob just didn’t know why.