bCHAPTER /b111

    Saphira’s breath hitched, sharp and involuntary, as Ruby’s gaze locked onto her sharp, venomous, band /bbfar /btoo familiar. The air in the office thickened, pressing against her ribs. Her dragon stirred instantlyb, /bba /bblow /bgrowl curling through her chest like smoke rising from embers.

    Let me out, Vaelora hissed, her voice coiling around Saphira’s spine. ‘She’s crossed the linei. /i

    Saphira’s fingers curled into fists, her nails biting into her palms until the sting grounded her. She bcould /bfeel the heat building beneath her skin, the subtle shift in her senses the way her vision sharpened, her breath deepened, her instincts wed toward the surface.

    Not yet,‘ she whispered inwardly, forcing her shoulders to stay square. We ineed /ito y this right.

    Niks moved before she could speak, his body sliding between her and Ruby with quiet precision. His stance was firm, protective–like a wall she hadn’t asked for but was grateful to have. Ruby’s attention snapped to him, her expression flickering with irritation.

    “I’ll ask again,” Niks said, voice low and edged with steel. “What do you think you’re doing? This office is off–limits. I told you that.”

    Ruby straightened, her spine stiffening as she pulled herposure around her like a tailored coat. But her eyes gleamed with something darker–something that didn’t quite fit the mask. “What is Saphira doing here?” she asked, her toneced with malice, almost gleeful.

    Saphira’s lips parted, the beginnings of a retort forming–but Niks cut inb, /bsharp and deliberate.

    “That’s none of your business,” he said. “I asked you a question.”

    Ruby’s mouth twisted into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She didn’t answer. Instead, her voice rose, words tumbling out in a rush. “She’s breaking the terms of her banishment from Silvermoon. She should be dead. The Matchmaker-”

    She faltered, then surged forward, her anger bubbling over like a pot left too long on the me. “We worked too hard for her to go to the Matchmaker just to survive. Her being alive ruins everything. It ruins our pack’s image.”

    Saphira’s heart thudded, a heavy beat against her ribs. Wei? /iOur packi? /iHer breath caught, and her dragon went still, listening. iShe /iijust /iadmitted iit/i.

    Niks didn’t flinch. His voice was calm, almost casual, butced with quiet power. “I thought you were banished. The outcast of your pack.”

    Ruby’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened, then closed againb, /bfumbling for words. “I–I meantb… /bI was speaking for them. Not me. I’m just-”

    The door burst open.

    bCHAPTER /bb111 /b

    Amara strode in, her steps quick band /bpurposeful. Her expression was thunderousb, /bher energy crackling like a storm barely held in check. She stopped dead at the sight of Ruby, Niks, and Saphira all in the same

    room.

    “You locked me in the movie room,” she snapped, eyes zing. “So, you could slip away and snoop.

    Ruby’s face drained of colour, herposure cracking at the edges.

    Saphira stepped forward, slow and deliberate, her dragon pulsing beneath her skin like a second heartbeat. Now we see who she ireally /iiis/ii. /i

    Saphira stepped forward, slow and deliberate, each movement infused with the simmering heat of her dragon. Vaelora coiled beneath her skin like wildfire held in check, a living me that pulsed with purpose. Her spine straightened, shoulders rolling back as if shedding the weight of old fear. She lifted her chin- not in arrogance, but in certainty. Her boots whispered against the floor, a quiet deration.

    “She’s iafraid/ii, /iVaelora murmured, her voice a velvet growl. i‘/iiLet /iher see what she’s underestimated.”

    Saphira’s gaze locked onto Ruby, unwavering and cold. Her eyes didn’t flicker. “Do you think we’re stupid?b” /bshe asked, voice low and cutting, each word deliberate. “We saw through you from the start. And now you’ve admitted it–every lie.”

    Ruby’s face twisted, herposure cracking like thin ice. Her fingers twitched at her sides, nails digging into her palms. “You can’t speak to me like that,” she snapped, stepping forward with forced bravado. “How did you even evade the Matchmaker?”

    Saphiraughed, sharp and mocking, the sound slicing through the tension like flint on steel. Her lips curled, eyes gleaming with something fierce. “Evade?” she echoed, tilting her head. “I didn’t evade anything. I went to the Matchmaker.”

    She turned slightly, her hand reaching for Niks’s without hesitation. His fingers met hers, grounding her in the moment. The warmth of his touch steadied her pulse. “And thanks to all your effort,” she continued, voice rising with quiet triumph, “I found my mate. I found my family.”

    Ruby’s jaw dropped, her eyes wide with disbelief. “That’s impossible,” she spat. “Niks is a powerful, feared leader. There’s no way my stupid, weak half–sister would mate with someone like that.”

    Saphira’s breath caught–and snapped.

    The air around her shifted.

    A pulse of energy burst from her chestb, /bunbidden and raw. Her dragon’s aura surged outward, ba /bshimmering force that rippled through the room like heat lightning. It wasn’t just warmth–it bwas /bpresenceb. /bPower. Identity.

    Niks flinched, just slightly. Even Amara took a step back, her eyes wideb, /blips parted.

    Saphira stepped forward again, her voice like bice /bover me. “You have no bidea /bwho I am,b” /bshe bsaid/bb, /bher

    b214 /b

    btone /bbdeadly /bbcalm/bb. /bb“/bbAnd /bbif /bbyou /bwere bsmart/bb, /bbyou’d /bbstop /bbbefore /bbyou /bsay btoo /bmuch.b” /b

    bRuby /bbvisibly /bshrank, her bravado bdraining /blike water from a cracked vessel. Her shoulders bhunched/b, bher /bbmouth /bopenedb–/bbbut /bno words came. And bin /bher beyes/bb–/bbfinally/bb–/bSaphira saw bit/b.

    bFear/bb. /b

    Vaefora purredb, /bsatisfiedb. /b‘iShe /iknows nowb./b”

    Saphira exhaled slowly, the aura receding like ba /btide drawn back to sea. Her grip on Niks’s hand remained firm, her dragon settling with a quiet hum.

    iLet /iiher /iiremember /iithis /iimoment/ii, /iSaphira thought. iLet /iher biremember /i/bwho she tried ito /iibreak/ibi. /i/b

    Amara stepped forward, her expression unreadable–but her eyes held a glint of something sharp. Suspicion. Satisfaction. Her gaze flicked to Saphira, and then, with a subtle tilt of her head, she winkedb. /b

    Amara turned back to Ruby, her voice smooth butced with quiet triumph. “And alsob, /bthanks to byou/bb,/bb” /bbshe /bsaid, “there’s someone else here you should meet.”

    Saphira smirked. Her pulse quickened. iShe’s /iigoing /ito ilose /iiit/ii. /i

    Ruby blinked, confusion flickering across her face. “Who?” she asked, her voice brittle.

    The door creaked open.

    Finn stepped into the office, his presence like a storm rolling in. His eyes locked onto Ruby, and his face- usually warm, usually kind–was thunderous. The air seemed to shift around him, heavy with everything unsaid.

    Ruby’s face went pale. Paler than before. Her lips parted, and she stumbled back a step, her head shaking slowly. “No,” she whispered. “No, it isn’t possible. You’re dead.”

    Finn didn’t speak. He moved to Saphira’s side, Amara nking his other. His jaw was clenched, his shoulders squared, and his silence spoke louder than any usation.

    Saphira reached out, her fingers brushing his arm. He turnedb, /beyes meeting hers, and she gave him a small nod–steady, resolute. iWe’re /iiin /ithis itogether/i.

    Finn’s expression softened just enough. He nodded backb. /b

    Ruby’s breath came in shallow bbursts/bb, /bherposure unravelling with every second.

    And Saphira stood firm, her dragon quiet but alert, watching. biLet /i/bbiher /i/bfeel bithe /i/biweight /iof biwhat /i/bbishe’s /i/bbidone/i/bbi. /i/b