The Matchmaker

Saphira couched low, her breath steady but spr hammering as she kept a sharp eye on both the guard and the mounding area. Asher sat beside her. bequally /bfocused, though she could feel the tentin rolling off him in wave

Across the clearing, Finn and Amara bhad /bpositioned themselves carefully, watching Raven and Jasper’s backs. Their presente e Saphira an added prof reassurance—no one was moving blind. If anything went wrong, Finn and Amara would see it before it escted

She kept her fons locked on Niks and led, watching them inch closer to the guards, their movements precise, deadly in their quirt approach.

They were waiting. Watching. For Raven’s signal.

bSaphira /bheld her breath, fingers curling slightly into the dirt beneath her.

Then–Asher murmured beside her.

“Here we go. They have the signal.”

She snapped back into the moment, catching the subtle flicker in the cloak–the bsign /bshe bhad /bmissed bwhile /blost in thought

Two sit, clean strikes. No wasted effort. bNo /bhesitation.

Saphira inled sharply, watching in stunted silence bas /bthe guards copsed instantly.

I bwas /bseamless, Unnerving in its efficiency

treninded her exactly why dragons were feated.

Why they were respected. Why they were lethal

She quickly scanned the area again, ensuring to movement, no signs of reinforcements. Fins and Amara did the bsame /bon their end, sending a quick nce toward her and Asher–a silent confirmation that the coast was clear.

Saphira met Asher’s gaze, modded once, then they moved

Fast, Controlled. bEvery /bstep bringing I

g them closer to Niks and Jed,”

Saphira moved swiftly, keeping time to Asher as they approached bNiks /band led. The tension in the air was suffocating–thick with anticipation, with feat, with hope.

As she reached Niks, she instinctively reached for his hand, giving it a firm squeeze. A silent we’re here, we’re together, we’ve got this

Niks turned his gase toward her, his golden eyes meeting her for the briefest second–just long mough for her to catch the flicker of something now, something deep. Then, with ba /bnod, he let go, his attention shifting back to the task ahead.

Together, they moved:

The door created as they stepped inside, the air stale, heavy with something ancient–something wrong.

And then–they saw them.

Saphira’s breath hitched.

Two dago. Chaised. Weak. But–alive.

A sharp, strangled breath escaped Asher before he bolted forward, neath stumbling in his desperation to much his mother.

The rest of the tram entered from the reposite side, their movements slower, cautious, but as theirnded on the bsecond /bdespre–fed fi colin

Nis went rigid. His breath stoppel.

Saphira could feel it.

Jed was the first to mutmut it, bhis /bsonke barely more than a whisper. “Zafira.”

Saphira felt her pulse roar in her ears.

This bwas /bher. Niks‘ sister. She was here. She was alive.

The weight of the moment pressed against them all–too big, too much.

bNiks /btook a slow step forward, his face unreadable, but his entire body held something between disbelief and unrelenting determination.

Niks barely had a second to process the sight of Zafira before his imts look over.

“We need to get them out. Now.” bHis /bvoice was sharp, unwavering, filled with urgency bas /bhe turned to the group.

Saphira snapped into action, moving toward the chains binding the dragons bdown/b. The thick metal glowed faintly with enchantments, paling with energy meant to keep them contained

Haven stepped forward, reaching her hands toward the restraints, her fingers watching with magic as she studied them

“These chains aren’t just holding them downb,/bb” /bbshe /bmurmured. “They’re forcing them to stay in dragon form.” She exhaled sharply, realization downing.” would’ve been the same for you, Nikn “

Niks barely reacted to that fact–his focus solely on the two dragons before them.

“Can you break the spell?” Saphira asked, urgency thick in her sove

Haven nodded. “Yes. But I need a few seconds”

Niks, Jed, Finn, andsper wasted no time. Together, they gripped the heavy chains, their supernatural strength bending the metal, straining against the magic. Keen muttered incantations under her breath, her power weaving through the air until-

The chains shattered, the pulsing energy dasipating as the enchantments broke.

Asher’s mother let out ba /bbweak/b, strained breath–and before their eyes, her massive dragon form shimmered, shifting.

When the glow faded, she was human again.

Exhausted, Wrakb. /b

But standing

Zafira, however, was different.

The moment her chains broke, she shifted—but her transformation was sluggish, her body refusing to move properly

She copsed the instand bshe /bwas in her human form, barely able to hold herself up

Niks surged forward, reaching for her, but was bHe /bcaught her before she could hit the ground, bgripping /bher tightly, his expression prin.

te’s too bweak/b,” led muttered.

Jasper stepped in without hesitation. “Give her in me.”

led nodded once before carefully handing Zafira over. Jasper cradled her with me, holding her as if she weighed nothing

“I’ll get her back as fast as possible,” Jasper promised, his voice serious, unwavering. “To the pack’s dretor.“

Niks clenched his jar but nodded. “G?”

Jasper was gone in a blink, his vampiric speed camping him away in a Hur.

Niks turned his gaze back to Asher’s mother, his own urgency never

fading

Saphira stepped beside her, carefully looping an arm wound the exhausted woman to help support her weight. Asher took the other side, ba gentle, his entire being consumed with making sure his mother yed upright.

Finn and Amara nked them, keeping watch as they moved,

They didn’t waste another second.

Because this wasn’t over until all of them were bat,

And they weren’t leaving anyone behind. Not now, Not ever

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