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.
That truth rooted her in place when fear told her to run.
Meg was blood. History. Late-night secrets and scraped knees and promises whispered under blankets. Mallory couldn’t abandon her, not even for Jakob. Not even for love.
A sound echoed through the clearing. A cough. They had arrived.
Mallory stiffened and planted her feet. They were giving her Meg whether they liked it or not.
Figures emerged from the shadows with their faces partially obscured and weapons visible but not raised. Ruecrags. She knew it instantly from the way they moved. Loose and confident, like rules didn’t apply to them.
“I’m here,” Mallory said and forced her voice steady. “I came alone.”
“Obviously or we wouldn’t be here.” A man stepped forward and shoved her toward the mountain face. “Get over there.”
She stumbled and barely caught herself before hitting the ground. “Don’t you touch me,” she snapped. Her heart pounded, but she lifted her chin. “I want my sister. Release Meg, and I’ll go quietly.”
Laughter rippled through the group, low and ugly. There were about ten men, and fear sizzled its way up her spine. She was in way over her head.
Another shove sent her off balance again into the side of the mountain. “You don’t make demands here,” someone said close to her ear.
Mallory’s palms burned where she hit the rock this time. The pain flared sharp and immediate. She pushed herself back up.
“This is going to end now,” she said even though her voice shook despite her best effort. “Who is in charge?”
For a moment, nothing happened. The men shifted but none of them had anything to say.
“Come on. You brought me out here. Who do I talk to in order to get my sister back?”
Then the group parted.
The figure who stepped forward moved with calm authority, and Mallory felt a strange, creeping unease even before she saw her face.
“No,” Mallory breathed. She leaned against the mountain for strength.
The woman stopped a few feet away and looked at her with familiar eyes.
Meg.
The world tilted violently.
“M…Meg?” Mallory’s voice broke as she stepped toward her. “Oh my God. You’re… how… I found you. After all this time, we can go home.”
Meg’s expression didn’t soften. If anything, it hardened. Her eyes were sharp and her mouth was set in something that wasn’t quite a smile.
“There is no home,” Meg said coolly.
Mallory staggered back like she’d been struck. “What are you talking about? They said you were taken. The messages, all the threats…”
“All real,” Meg said. “Just not in the way you thought.”
Understanding crept in slowly and horrifying, piece by piece.
“I was never a prisoner,” Meg continued. “I joined the Ruecrags two years ago. I fell in love.” A pause. “He showed me the truth. What the world really is.”
“Don’t say that.” Mallory shook her head while tears streamed down her cheeks. “No. No, they brainwashed you. We can fix this. Jakob can help.”
Meg laughed softly. “You still think kings save people?”
The words sliced deep.
“You never needed rescuing,” Mallory whispered.
“No,” Meg agreed. “I didn’t.”
“Do you even know how long I’ve looked for you? What about what you did to our parents? To me as your little sister? Because you fell in love?”
“What have you done for love, sis? You’re standing on a mountain, in the middle of the night, all alone with a ruthless group of criminals, because you love our dear king.”
“My whole life for the last two years has been about finding you. Wanting you to be safe.” Mallory’s chest felt like it was caving in.
“I never asked you for anything.” Meg’s voice was hard and colder than the wind.
“Then why? Why all of this?”
Meg stepped closer. Her gaze raked over Mallory with little interest. “Because you’re my sister, after all.
The original plan was to take you...convert you.
Have you join us. Blood binds stronger than ideology.
” She tilted her head. “And at the same time, put a ransom out there on your head and see if anyone bit. But then you, little sis, went and made things interesting.”
Mallory’s stomach dropped.
“Hooking up with the king?” Meg continued lightly. “Bravo! That raised your value considerably. You have no idea how much your head is worth now since I’m sure if you’re one with the beloved king, you won’t be one of us.”
The words landed like a physical blow.
“This was all a setup,” Mallory whispered. “The texts. The fear. You used me.”
Meg didn’t deny it. “We needed leverage after we backed off once we saw your connection with the king, almost right from the start of your first visit. You were the perfect little sacrificial lamb.”
“You were watching me? Would you have let me fall off that cliff?”
A giggle from her sister really ramped up Mallory’s temper. “We didn’t see you fall, but apparently that was very beneficial to our cause. We caught the affection between you two at the ball.”
“And then what, Meg? You just let me leave Onyxheim? Why didn’t you do anything then?” She stuck her finger in Meg’s face. “Why’d you wait?”
The man closest to Meg backhanded Mallory so hard it almost knocked her down. She cried out and grabbed her face with her wet glove.
“Do not get that close to Meg,” the man warned.
“She’s my sister and I’ll do whatever the hell I want,” Mallory shot back. She stepped back up to Meg. “Answer me. Why did you wait? What did you hope to accomplish?”
Meg’s nostrils flared. “Once we saw the connection between you and him, we decided it was better to see where that road led. More beneficial to our cause if we could control the royals.”
“You let me leave. How’d you know I would come back?”
“That was a risk, I’ll admit it. And honestly, I’ll tell you straight, we didn’t think ol’ Jake was going to let you leave and we didn’t pay enough attention and missed your departure. It just took us a little time and a lot of coercion to get your professor to cooperate to get you back.”
Mallory’s heart shattered completely then, the last pieces falling away as the truth became undeniable. “You used him to get me back here?”
“It wasn’t that difficult. You found the plant that needed to be researched. Kudos for that. A little sister-pride here, if I’m honest. He just needed to convince you to get back here.”
Everything had been designed to pull her here. To use her against Jakob.
“What do you want from Jakob?”
Meg shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever we can get. How much do you think you’re worth to the crown?” She leaned forward. “Hmm?”
Mallory sank to her knees and the cold stone seeped into her bones as grief swallowed fear whole. She’d risked everything. Love. Safety. Trust. And it had all been a lie.
“You bitch,” she snarled up at Meg. “You don’t deserve anything from Jakob.”
The man slapped her again and knocked her over sideways, but this time she didn’t fight her way up. There was no sense in it.
Somewhere far away, she knew Jakob would be searching for her. And for the first time since this nightmare began, Mallory wasn’t sure he could save her at all.