bCHAPTER /bb125 /b

    The office had gone quiet. Not the kind of quiet that soothed–it pressed down like fog, thick and unmoving. Saphira sat hunched over the mapb, /belbows braced on the edge of the desk, fingers tracing the jagged ridges of Silvermoon teritory. Entry points. Escape routes. Contingencies. Her mind moved like a de, but her chest felt tight, constricted. Too many unknowns. Too many ways this could go wrong.

    Behind her, a sigh broke the silence. Not sharp. Not thoughtful. It was frayed–like something unravelling.

    “I’m terrified,” Niks said, voice low. “Of something happening to you if you go.”

    Her hand stilled mid–gesture, hovering above the parchment. The words didn’t just interrupt her–they shattered her focus. She turned slowly, as if afraid that moving too fast would break the fragile moment.

    Niks stood by the window, his silhouette framed by the fading light. His shoulders were rigid, but his face… his face bwas /bstripped bare. No trace of the infamous Niks Arrax. No steel. Nomand. Just a man–haunted and afraid.

    Saphira’s breath caught. He looks like a boy iwho’s /iijust /irealized ithe /iworld ican /iitake /iithings /iifrom /iihim/ii. /i

    She rose, the chair scraping softly behind her, and crossed bthe /broom in swift, purposeful stridesb. /bHer hand found his chest; fingers syed over the steady thrum of his heart. “Niksb…/b”

    He looked down at her, and his eyes–usually molten gold and unreadable–flickered with something fragile. “I know I’m not the most romantic,” he said, voice rough. “Or passionate. I’ve never had a partner before. Never needed one.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “But now I’ve found you… I can’t do life without you anymore. You’ve be the most important person to meb. /bAnd the thought of losing you-” He exhaled shakily. b“/bbIt /bkills me.”

    Saphira blinked, stunned. Her heart thudded hard, not from fear–but from the sheer weight of his words. iNiks /iiArrax /ibdoesn’t /bbsay /bthings like this. iNot /ito ianyone/ii. /iNot iever/ibi. /i/b

    She reached up, her fingers brushing along the sharp line of his jaw, tracing the tension there. “I don’t need you to shower me in romance,” she whispered. “You’ve given me a new life. A new purpose. But aside from all that…b” /bHer voice faltered, then steadied. “bI /bbcan’t /bsit on the sidelines foreverb./bb” /b

    Niks pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in a hold that felt more like a plea than an embraceb. /bHis grip was firmb, /bbalmost /bdesperate, like he bwas /banchoring himself to her. “It wouldn’t be so bad if I went with you.”

    Saphira stiffened, then pulled back, her palms pressing against his chest. “No. bYou /bcan’t bleave /bthe pack. Not now. It’s too risky.”

    He nodded, reluctantly. “I know. bI /bjust… I don’t like it.”

    7

    Then he stepped back, just enough to see her fully, and lifted his hands bto /bcup her bface/b. His thumbs brushed her cheekbones with reverence, and his gaze locked onto hers. “You’re my everything now.”

    Saphira’s breath hitched. She looked into his beyes/b–really looked. The fire. The bfear/b. The loveb. /bIt was all there,id bare and trembling.

    He means iit/i. iEvery /iword. iAnd /igods ihelp /iiher/ibi; /i/bishe /ifeels iit /iitoo/ii. /i

    Saphira’s fingers curled around thepel of Niks’s shirt, knuckles pale with the pressure. She wasn’t holding him to keep him close–she was holding herself together. The steady heat of his body seeped into her palms, anchoring her in the moment. Her heart bwas /bstill echoing from his confession, each beat reverberating like a drum against her ribs. The truth of it settled inside her like a de–sharp, beautifulb, /bterrifying. Everything felt more fragile now. More real.

    Her bvoice /bcame out barely above ba /bwhisper, raw with emotion. “You’re my everything too, Niks. I wouldn’t bever /bput myself in danger without causeb. /bEspecially now.”

    His jaw flexed, a flicker of tension passing through him like a tremor. His gaze dropped to the floor, lingering there as if the words he needed bwere /bburied in the grain of the wood. When he looked back up, his beyes /bwere steadier–bresolved/b. “As much as I want to,” he said slowly, “bI /bcan’t be selfish. I can’t bkeep /bbyou /blocked up out of my own fear.”

    Her brows drew together, confusion tightening her chest. What is he saying? Her grip loosened, fingers slipping from his shirt bas /bbshe /bbtook /bba /bhalfb–/bbstep /bbback/b, needing to see his face, fully. “What are you saying?”

    He exhaled, the sound rough, reluctant, like it scraped against something inside him. “I think it’s a good idea for you to bgo/bb./bb” /b

    Her breath caught, sharp and sudden. “You’re serious?”

    He nodded once, golden eyes unwavering. “I am. Despite everything in me screaming not to let you out of my sight… you’re right. If Fing’s going to be the bait, you’re the next best option to finding Asher, Talia, and Sam. And we need to move fast.”

    Saphira’s mouth parted, gratitude swelling in her chest like a tide, but before she could speak, Niks raised a hand–gentle,manding.

    “But,” he said, voice firmer now, themander in him rising to the surface, “I have the final say on who goes with you. And yes, you’ll have a say thes

    She nodded, her expression softening, the tension in her shoulders easing just slightly. “Agreed. But we both need to trust the team. Trust that they’r me safe.”

    Niks stepped closer, his hand sliding behind her neck, thumb brushing the edge of her jaw with reverence. The touch was soft. “You have toe bback /bto me.”

    Saphira leaned into him, her forehead nearly resting against his. iI /iiwill/ii. /iI ihave /ito. Not just for the mission–for him. For us. “I will”

    The moment hung between them, quiet and charged, like the breath before a storm. iThis /iis what it means to be tethered to someonei–/iinot /ijust in lose, but in iwar/ii. /iIn purpose. In isurvival/i. In ithe /iipromise /iof ireturn/i.

    Then, a knock at the door shattered the stillnessb. /b

    Niks didn’t flinch. He straightened, his hand falling away from her slowly, reluctantly, like letting go of something sacred. “Come iin/ib,/b” he called.

    The door creaked open, and one by one, everyone filed back in–Jed, Finnb, /bAmara, Zafira, Anastasia, Raven, and Jasper. Their faces were expectant, tense, ready. Saphira didn’t move from Niks’s side. Not yet.

    Her gaze swept the room, thennded on Raven. “Where are the other witches?b” /bshe asked, realizing with a flicker of unease that she didn’t even know their

    namesb. /b

    “They’re working on protection spells,” Raven replied, folding her arms. “Potions bwe /bcan take with usb./b”

    “Good idea,” Zafira added, nodding.

    “But they’ll stay here to protect the pack too,” Raven continued.

    Niks nodded, already moving toward the head of the table. Saphira followed, her steps steady, her mind sharpening. “Good, we need to be prepared for anything.”

    Everyone settled around the table, the air thick with anticipation. Finn leaned forward, ihis /ivoice cutting through the quiet. “Let’s get this n sorted then.”

    Saphira’s fingers brushed the edge of the map, her eyes narrowing. iTime /ito istop /iisurviving/i. Time ito /iistart /iileading/i.

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