The Matchmaker - The Arrax Saga Book 1 Chapter 206

The office filled slowly, Finn, Amara, Anastasia, Asher, Zafira, Jasper, Talia, and Sam, all gathered around the table, their expressions ranging from wary to determined. Jed remained in his seat, arms crossed. Nikolas stood and moved to the head of the table, remaining standing.

Nikolas leant on the table, his voice calm but firm. “Jed’s returned with intel. The Elders were not the ones running everything, the Core are. They’re the ones behind the Matchmaker’s corruption. The Elders were just a front.”

A ripple of shock moved through the room.

“The Core?” Finn asked, brows furrowed. “Who are they and how deep does this go?”

Jed opened the notepad and placed it on the table. “They are a group of powerful supernatural’s who are at the heart of it all. I suspect it has been going on for decades. Maybe centuries. They’ve been engineering bloodlines, manipulating bonds, separating pairs that threatened their control.”

Amara’s voice was quiet but sharp. “So they’ve been playing god.”

“Exactly,” Jed said. “And now that the Elders are gone, they will be rebuilding. Recruiting. If we don’t move fast, they’ll create a new circle of Elders and strike harder than before.”

Zafira leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. “Do we even have what it takes to stop them?”

Saphira felt the question land like a stone in her chest. She looked around the room, at the doubt in Jasper’s eyes, the tension in Sam’s jaw, the flicker of fear behind Anastasia’s eyes.

“We’re not just fighting a system,” Asher said. “We’re fighting legacy. A system older than any of us.”

Talia straightened, her voice steady. “But we’ve already broken part of it. We took down the Elders. We exposed the truth. That means something.”

Saphira nodded. “It means we’re capable. But we need to be united. We need to be smart. And we need to believe we’re enough.”

Finn looked at her, eyes searching. “Do you believe that?”

She met his gaze. “I do. I have to.”

Nikolas placed a hand on her back, silent support radiating through the bond.

Jed cleared his throat. “We’ll need a plan. A strike team. A way into the Matchmaker. And we’ll need to decide what happens after, who takes control, how we rebuild.”

Amara’s eyes narrowed. “And if we fail?”

Saphira looked around the room, her voice quiet but unwavering. “Then we fall trying to protect what matters. But I don’t think we will.”

“We need to be strategic,” Nikolas said. “This isn’t just a raid. It’s a dismantling.”

Jed nodded. “The Core meets once a week at the Matchmaker. All of them. It’s the only time they’re in one place. And they will likely bring their closest informants with them, either for protection or private briefings.”

Raven leaned forward. “So that’s our window.”

Saphira’s fingers tapped the edge of the table. “We thought if we hit the staff and informants first, we create chaos. Disrupt their network. And if it’s the day they’re all gathered, we maximize impact.”

Finn frowned. “Won’t that alert the Core before we reach them?”

“Not if we move fast,” Jed said. “We strike the outer rings first, staff, informants, then the Core.”

Amara’s voice was quiet but sharp. “We’ll need to cover all aspects of potential dangers. They still have the poison.”

Nikolas grunted. “Hm, that’s true, we need to make sure the antidotes are ready, let me know what you need.”

Amara nodded. “I will, thank you.”

Jasper shifted in his seat. “We’re going in blind. We don’t know what kind of power the Core has.”

“We know they’re worse than the Elders,” Jed said. “They built the Elders. They built the system. They’ve survived centuries by staying hidden.”

Saphira’s chest tightened. “Then we prepare for the worst. We go in bonded. We go in together.”

Zafira crossed her arms. “We’ll need a solid plan.”

Nikolas looked around the room. “We hit the Matchmaker on the next day the Core meet. We take out the staff and informants first. Then we confront the Core.”

The office emptied slowly, Jed lingered a moment, gave Saphira a nod, then followed the others out.

The door clicked shut.

Saphira sat still, her fingers resting on the edge of the table. Her heart felt heavy, not with fear, but with the gravity of what they were about to do.

Nikolas stepped beside her, silent for a moment. Then he reached out and gently brushed her hair over her shoulder, his fingers lingering at the nape of her neck.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

She nodded, but didn’t speak right away. Her gaze stayed fixed on the map. “It’s strange,” she said finally. “We’ve fought a couple of times now. But this one… it feels different.”

Nikolas leaned against the table beside her. “Because it is.”

“They built the system to erase us,” she murmured. “To stop bonds like ours from ever forming. And now we’re walking into the heart of it.”

He reached for her hand, threading his fingers through hers. “And we’re going to tear it down.”

Saphira turned to him, her voice softer now. “What if they’re stronger than we thought? What if we’re not enough?”

Nikolas cupped her face, his thumb brushing her cheek. “Then like you said, we fall together. But I don’t think we will. I think we were made for this.”

She leaned into him, resting her forehead against his. “I keep thinking about what Vaelora said. That we have to find out what comes next ourselves.”

“And Vorthar said the same,” Nikolas whispered. “Maybe this is what we were meant to do.”

Saphira closed her eyes, letting the thought settle in. “I’m scared.”

“I know,” he said. “Honestly, me too.”

They stood like that for a long moment, the quiet wrapping around them like a cloak.

Then Saphira pulled back slightly, her eyes searching his. “Promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“If I falter… if I lose myself in there… bring me back.”

Nikolas nodded, his voice steady. “Always.”

She kissed him passionately, full of everything she couldn’t say. He kissed her back, intensifying the kiss, desperate, as if it was their last.

When they finally pulled apart, she exhaled. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

Nikolas smiled, brushing her hair back once more. “Now I like that idea.”