i2/3 /i

    bThe /bbMatchmaker /b

    CHAPTER b91 /b

    The wind shifted subtly as the clearing bushed again, tension reced with steady focus. Saphira stood facing Niks, heart thudding hard and dah ready to step past the edge offort. Ifer dragon stirred beneath her skin coiled, waiting.

    Niks gave her a quiet nod.

    iShift/ii. /i

    Heat rushed through her limbs, wings unfurling as bone stretched and muscle reformed. Her feet hit the earth with a heavyb, /bwed thud. ameke curled from her nostrils as her tail flicked once, testing the weight of her frame. Across from her, Niks had already shifted his dragonrger, darker, moreposed but unmistakably gentle in the tilt of his snout as he approached.

    He nudged her right shoulder with his nose, directing her into a low defensive stance. Saphira adjusted, spreading her hind legs bapart /band bepoching/bb. /bbHet /bwings tilted slightly, catching the sun.

    Niks moved back, then lunged–not hard, just fast. His swipe came low and deliberate, his left w curling toward her nk.

    Saphira flinched and rose too soon, catching air instead of bnceb. /b

    Nikolás pulled back with a huff, then mimicked bthe /bblock motion: wings folded inwardb, /bws braced, spine coiled.

    She tried again, clumsy but determined–wing snapping inward to shield, bws /bsliding across the dirt for tractionb. /b

    Their dragons circled, paced. Every movement Niks made was controlledb: /ba feint, ba/b/pivot, ba /bsudden crouch that tested her instincts. Saphira followed, sometimeste, sometimes wide, often catching the motion after it happened.

    They couldn’t speak–not like they normally could–but bshe /bfelt him through the bond, steady and present. When she faltered, he slowed. When she hesitated, he demonstrated again. bNudges/b. bEye /bcontact. The rhythm of shared trust.

    Saphira attempted a counter–strike–bws /blifted, wings tucked–and missed the angle entirely, nearly stumbling sideways.

    She growled under her breath, frustrated.

    Niks responded by crouching low and nudging her nk with his snout again, prompting her to mirror the position. A reminder: focus on form before force.

    They practiced for nearly an hour–blocks, low strikes, tail sweeps. bAnd /bwhile confusion tangled her momentum more than onceb, /bevery nce from him pulled her back to centre.

    The clearing was quieting. The rhythm of sparring was slowing, their motions less about force now and more about finesse. Saphira ducked beneath Niks’s wed sweep, wings tucking instinctively as she countered with a low brush of her own–near perfect form. Shended lightly, dust curling baround /bher talons. Her heart thundered in her chest, adrenalineced through every beat, but it wasn’t chaotic anymore. It was aligned. Bnced.

    I ithink /iiI’m /iigetting /iithis/i, she thought, breath pulsing steady as Vaelora shifted her weight inside her. biI /i/bijust /iiwish /iI icould /italk.

    It came unfiltered–emotion and intent merging. The longingced in adrenaline, fierce and open–and something clicked.

    Niks’s dragon snapped his head around with a sharp jolt, wings ring briefly as he stared at her. Confusion rippled bacross /bhis expression–the lift of his scaled brow ridgeb, /bthe twitch at the edge of his jaw.

    i‘/iiDid /iiyou /iijust /ibispeak /i/bto mebi?/i/b‘ His voicended in her head with stunning rity. Deep. Familiar. Echoed in dragon–toneb. /b

    Saphira froze. Her tail flicked once, sharp and startled. ‘iYes/i‘. The thought burst from herb–/bidental, startled, but unmistakable.

    Niks’s dragon blinked slowly, his stance lowering slightly. Then–‘iYou /iidid /iit iagain/ii. /iHis tone was gentler now, wonder shading bthe /bbedges /bof bit/b.

    He moved forward with deliberate care, ws brushing through bthe /bbgrass/b. His formrger and more controlled–approached hers bslowly/bb, /bbunthreatening/bb. /bbHis /bsnout reached out and nudged beneath her jaw, then slid along her neck in ba /bbslow/b, affectionate rub.

    CHAPTER b91 /b

    Saphira’s wings rxed instinctively. Her heart thudded once, Twice, And then the tension began to chl- Vaetors responded without hesitation b& /blon bodied part rumbled through her, deep and resonant.

    from deep inside, not her own, but shared. Familiar. And warm.

    The sensation was overwhelming–like the dragon

    inside her wasn’t

    just content, but joyful. Home.

    She felt the pull before she understood it–an emotional

    Vaelora leaned into Niks’s dragon, their necks pressing

    And then, clear as breath, Saphira heard her dragon’s voice

    gether in a quiet show of trust. Affection.

    first time.

    Vorthar.

    Niks’s dragon stilled, every muscle softening.

    Vaelora purred again–louder now. She had learned his name.

    Saphira closed her eyes, the rush of warmth blooming behind her ribs like wildfire.

    She didn’t just hear her dragon now. She felt her. And bthey /bwere no longer two

    halves walking separate paths.

    Thest breath of wind from their spar cooled across Saphira’s scales bas /bthe moment held–quiet and charged. Niks’s dragon took a slow step backb, /bhead dipping once in silent signal. She watched as the shift pulled through him, wings folding inward, dark limbs folding and softening until his human form emerged with familiar ease. He straightened, chest rising with exertionb, /band met her gazeb. /b

    She followed, the transformation uncoiling through her body like smoke. bHeat /bretreated. Bone realigned. Her bws /bdug once more into earth before bdrawing /bback into skin, and in a heartbeat, she stood again–bare feet brushing grass, braid tumbling loose down her shoulder. Her breath came steady, heart still thundering with everything they’d uncovered.

    Before she could speak, Niks stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. No hesitation. bHis /barms wrapped around her back, hand resting between bher /bshoulder des, anchoring her fully in his embrace.

    He dipped his head, lips grazing her temple bas /bhe whispered, “Our dragons have connected fully. We should be able to mind–linkpletely now. Even in human form.”

    Saphira stilled against him, something electric rippling through her–soft and potent. She looked upb, /bher expression slightly dazed by the depth of what she was feeling. Could they really…?

    She didn’t speak aloud. She thought it.

    iI /iithink /iithey /iihave/i.‘

    Niks blinked bonce/b–then his smile deepened, that familiar glint tugging at the edge of his mouth. “This is going to be bso /bmuch easier now,‘ he said in her mind, his tone yful. And ifun/ii./ii‘ /iHe added the wink with enough amusement to make her chest flutter.

    Saphira let out a quietugh, tilting her head against his shoulder.

    connection hummed beneath the surface–bnew/b, raw, but right.

    Across the clearing, Jed called out, voice cutting through the quiet with his usual tone of practicality. b“/bbAre /bbyou /btwo done for the bday/bb, /bor do bwe /bneed to clear the arena for round btwo/b?b” /b

    Niks lifted his head and shot Jed a dry look. “Depends. You offering byourself /bas a sparring partnerb?/bb” /b

    Jed held up both hands in mock defence.”I like my limbs where they are.”

    Saphira smiled, the bond still echoing softly in her chest bas /bshe stepped back–but only bfar /benough to loop her arm through Niks’s.

    She wasn’t just learning to fight anymore. She was learning to speak with bevery /bpart of bherself/bb. /bbAnd /bsomeone finally bheard /bbher/b.