The Matchmaker - The Arrax Saga Book 1 Chapter 45

Saphira crouched low, her breath steady but her pulse hammering as she kept a sharp eye on both the guards and the surrounding area. Asher sat beside her, equally focused, though she could feel the tension rolling off him in waves.

Across the clearing, Finn and Amara had positioned themselves carefully, watching Raven and Jasper’s backs. Their presence gave Saphira an added layer of reassurance, no one was moving blind. If anything went wrong, Finn and Amara would see it before it escalated.

She kept her focus locked on Nikolas and Jed, watching them inch closer to the guards, their movements precise, deadly in their quiet approach.

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

Saphira held her breath, fingers curling slightly into the dirt beneath her.

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 sign she had missed while lost in thought.

Nikolas and Jed moved.

Two swift, clean strikes. No wasted effort. No hesitation.

Saphira inhaled sharply, watching in stunned silence as the guards collapsed instantly.

It was seamless. Unnerving in its efficiency.

It reminded her exactly why dragons were feared.

Why they were respected. Why they were lethal.

She quickly scanned the area again, ensuring no movement, no signs of reinforcements. Finn and Amara did the same on their end, sending a quick glance toward her and Asher, a silent confirmation that the coast was clear.

Saphira met Asher’s gaze, nodded once, then they moved.

Fast. Controlled. Every step bringing them closer to Nikolas and Jed.

Saphira moved swiftly, keeping close to Asher as they approached Nikolas and Jed. The tension in the air was suffocating, thick with anticipation, with fear, with hope.

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

Nikolas turned his gaze toward her, his golden eyes meeting hers for the briefest second, just long enough for her to catch the flicker of something raw, something deep. Then, with a nod, he let go, his attention shifting back to the task ahead.

Together, they moved.

The door creaked as they stepped inside, the air stale, heavy.

And then they saw them.

Saphira’s breath hitched.

Two dragons. Chained. Weak. But alive.

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

The rest of the team entered from the opposite side, their movements slower, cautious, but as their eyes landed on the second dragon, Jed let out an audible curse.

Nikolas went rigid. His breath stopped.

Saphira could feel it.

Jed was the first to murmur it, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Zafira.”

Saphira felt her pulse roar in her ears.

This was her. Nikolas’ sister. She was here. She was alive.

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

Nikolas took a slow step forward, his face unreadable, but his entire body held something between disbelief and unrelenting determination.

Nikolas barely had a second to process the sight of Zafira before his instincts took over.

“We need to get them out. Now.” His voice was sharp, unwavering, filled with urgency as he turned to the group.

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

Raven stepped forward, reaching her hands toward the restraints, her fingers twitching with magic as she studied them.

“These chains aren’t just holding them down,” she murmured. “They’re forcing them to stay in dragon form.” She exhaled sharply, realization dawning. “It would’ve been the same for you, Nikolas.”

Nikolas 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 voice.

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

Nikolas, Jed, Finn, and Jasper wasted no time. Together, they gripped the heavy chains, their supernatural strength bending the metal, straining against the magic. Raven muttered incantations under her breath, her power weaving through the air until...

SNAP.

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

Asher’s mother let out a weak, strained breath, and before their eyes, her massive dragon form shimmered, shifting.

When the glow faded, she was human again.

Exhausted. Weak.

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 collapsed the instant she was in her human form, barely able to hold herself up.

Nikolas surged forward, reaching for her, but Jed was faster. He caught her before she could hit the ground, gripping her tightly, his expression grim.

“She’s too weak,” Jed muttered.

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

Jed nodded once before carefully handing Zafira over. Jasper cradled her with ease, 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 doctor.”

Nikolas clenched his jaw but nodded. “Go.”

Jasper was gone in a blink, his vampiric speed carrying him away in a blur.

Nikolas turned his gaze back to Asher’s mother, his own urgency never fading.

Saphira stepped beside her, carefully looping an arm around the exhausted woman to help support her weight. Asher took the other side, his grip firm but gentle, his entire being consumed with making sure his mother stayed upright.

Finn and Amara flanked them, keeping watch as they moved.

They didn’t waste another second.

Because this wasn’t over until all of them were out.

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