The Matchmaker - The Arrax Saga Book 1 Chapter 191

Saphira knelt beside Nikolas, her knees sinking into damp earth, her hands slick with blood as she pressed against the wound. His skin was ghost-pale, his breath shallow and rattling, sweat beading across his brow like dew on stone. Around them, the forest roared with chaos—howls, spells, the clash of claws and steel, but all she could hear was his heartbeat, fading beneath her fingers.

“Stay with me,” she whispered, voice trembling, barely audible over the din. “Nikolas, please.”

His eyelids fluttered open, glassy with pain. His lips parted, cracked and dry. “I’m sorry,” he rasped, each word a struggle. “I built this reputation… powerful, cruel, untouchable. But it wasn’t me. It was Vorthar. It was strong friends. I took it for granted.”

Saphira shook her head, tears streaking through the grime on her cheeks. She cupped his face gently, her thumb brushing the edge of his jaw. “No. You are powerful. You’ve always been powerful. Not because of Vorthar. Because of your heart. Your loyalty. Your strength.”

Nikolas coughed, a weak, wet sound that made her flinch. His body trembled beneath her touch. “And now… when it really matters… when I needed to protect the ones I love… I failed.”

“You haven’t failed,” she said fiercely, gripping his hand. “You’re still here. Vorthar is still here. You can pull through. You have to... please.”

His fingers curled weakly around hers, the pressure barely there. “Saphira…”

She leaned closer, brushing his hair back from his damp forehead, her breath catching.

“I love you,” he whispered, voice fraying at the edges.

Her heart clenched. “Don’t you do that; don’t you say it like your saying goodbye. If you love me then stay. Stay with me.”

Behind them, the forest erupted.

Jed’s howl split the air, primal and commanding, as he tore through a line of Cinderwood wolves. Asher and Finn flanked him, spells crackling from their hands. Zafira and Anastasia moved like twin storms, their dragons circling overhead in a blur of wings and flame. Jasper, Sam, Talia, and Raven led their own groups, weaving through the chaos with precision and fury.

Jed glanced toward Saphira and Nikolas, concern flashing in his eyes, but he was already mid-leap, claws sinking into a vampire Elder.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed behind her.

Saphira turned, her body tensing, just as a wolf Elder stepped into view. His eyes gleamed with malice, his grin sharp and cruel. “So, this is the mighty Nikolas Arrax,” he sneered. “Dropped by a single poison. Pathetic. Now it’s your turn, Luna.”

Nikolas groaned, trying to rise, his hand twitching toward her, but his body betrayed him.

Saphira stood, fury igniting in her chest like a firestorm. Vaelora surged inside her, her voice a snarl of ancient rage. '*You will not destroy us.'*

Her bones cracked, her skin shimmered, and scales bloomed across her arms. Her eyes blazed gold. She lunged.

The Elder met her head-on, claws flashing. They collided with a roar, Saphira driving him back with raw force. She ducked under his swing, twisted, and slammed her elbow into his ribs. He staggered, snarling, but grinned as his body began to shift.

Fur rippled across his skin, his form expanding, claws lengthening, power radiating from him like heat.

Nikolas groaned again, louder this time.

Saphira’s head snapped toward him, just for a second.

It was enough.

The Elder struck, claws raking across her side, sending her flying into a tree. She hit hard, bark splintering, breath knocked from her lungs. Pain exploded across her ribs.

She scrambled to her feet, blood dripping from her side, torn between the fight and Nikolas, her heart splitting down the middle.

As if the universe heard her, Jed was there. He lunged at the Elder with a snarl, tackling him to the ground in a blur of fur and fury. “Go!” he shouted over his shoulder, voice raw. “Go to Nikolas, he needs you!”

Saphira didn’t hesitate.

She ran.

Saphira dropped to her knees beside Nikolas, her breath ragged, her hands slick and trembling as she pressed against the wound in his abdomen. His skin was cold now, lips tinged grey, and his chest barely rose beneath her palms. The forest behind them roared with chaos, howls, spells, the clash of claws and steel, but her world had narrowed to the man bleeding out in front of her.

*‘Vaelora,’* she called inward, desperate, her thoughts sharp and pleading. *‘We need to try. We need to try and help him somehow.’*

The dragon stirred, stronger than before, her voice a low growl in Saphira’s chest. *‘I’m trying. The poison is old magic. It’s fighting me, layered, twisted. It’s not just physical.’*

Saphira clenched her jaw, her heart thudding painfully. She opened the mind-link to Finn, her thoughts urgent. *“Did Amara give you any antidotes? Anything at all?”*

Finn’s reply came back strained, breathless, mid-battle. *“No. We rushed off so fast. The healers were going to make a few and send them after us. We didn’t wait.”*

Saphira swore under her breath, her voice cracking. “We don’t have the antidote,” she whispered aloud, her gaze locked on Nikolas’s face.

His eyes fluttered open for a moment, unfocused, barely conscious.

Vaelora’s presence pulsed again. *‘Then I’ll try to reach Vorthar. Maybe he can help.’*

Silence stretched. Then a flicker.

*‘I’m here,’* came Vorthar’s voice, distant and strained.

Saphira’s heart pounded. “We’ll keep trying,” she said aloud, brushing damp hair from Nikolas’s forehead with trembling fingers. “We’re not giving up.”

She hesitated, then thought back to the main ingredient to the antidote. *It’s a long shot, but it might be what he needs to pull through, just until the healers come.*

Saphira partially shifted her hand, revealing her claws and slit the inside of her wrist, drawing blood. Her breath hitched at the sting, but she didn’t flinch. “Take it,” she said softly, holding it to his lips. “It’s dragon blood. It might help.”

Nikolas blinked, weakly shaking his head. “Saphira…”

“Please,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You said you love me. Then fight for me.”

After a moment of hesitation, he parted his lips. She tilted her wrist, letting the blood touch his tongue. He swallowed.

A few minutes passed, Saphira held her breath for every second until Vorthar’s voice came through weakly in her mind, *‘Something’s shifting. I don’t know what. My strength is gone… but the bond, it feels stronger. Closer to him than ever.’*

Vaelora surged inside her, her voice sharp and commanding. *‘Step back. Now.’*

Saphira froze. *‘What?’*

*‘Now,’* Vaelora repeated, urgent. *‘Something’s happening.’*

Saphira scrambled back, her heart in her throat, her knees slipping in the damp soil. She watched as Nikolas’s body began to glow faintly, silver threads of energy weaving across his skin like veins of light. The ground beneath him trembled, a low hum rising from the earth.

The bond pulsed.

And something ancient stirred.