<b>CHAPTER </b><b>98 </b>
The morning <b>air </b>was crisp, scented faintly with pine and dew, and the corridors of the pack house felt too quiet after the departure. Saphira stood near therge windows, watching thest traces of footprints blur into sunlight. The two teams were gone.
She inhaled deeply, bracing against the prickle of unease. Time to train. No soft edges now.
Niks was already nearby, scanning one of the territory maps with a focused brow. She approached, steps quiet but deliberate,
“Training,” she said, her voice clear. “I want another session. But this time… I need it to push harder. More intense.”
He looked up, something shifting behind his eyes–recognition, agreement. “Good,” he said simply, nodding once. “We’ll fly deeper, challenge endurance, reflexes. You ready?”
Saphira nodded. “I’ll let Zafira and Anastasia know. I want them on standby–just in case anythinges up from the others.”
She found them in themon room, both flipping through reports and maps with quiet conversation already in flow. Zafira looked up first as Saphira entered.
“Training?” she asked.
Saphira nodded. “A tougher session. Niks is in. I want you two on standby for updates from the field.”
Anastasia stood and stretched, her expression sharpening. “I’d like to keep training too. This isn’t time for rest.”
“I was thinking shifts,” Saphira said. “After me, you train with Finn. Zafira with Jasper.”
Zafira smiled, pushing her tablet aside. “I’ll speak to Jasper and Finn. Arrange the timings. We’ll rotate.”
Her fingers drummed lightly across a folder beside her. “Also–we’ll start digging through thetest files from The Matchmaker. If we can pinpoint leadership names, connections, anything suspicious… we might get ahead of their intent.”
Saphira felt the quiet pulse of admiration for her team. Not just ready. Resourceful.
“Perfect,” she said. “We’ll regroup after training.”
With that, she turned, her boots thudding softly against the floor as she made her way back toward Niks.
She reached Niks’s room and nudged the door open gently. He was inside, seated on the edge of the bed, handsced as he stared out the window. The early morning light cast long ts across his back, and when he turned toward her, there was no surprise–only quiet acknowledgement.
“I’m ready,” she said, voice low but firm. “To train.”
He stood with a small nod, rising fluidly, and crossed to the wardrobe where their gym gear was stashed. His fingers moved with focus as he tossed her one of her shirts, the fabric catching on the breeze that slipped through the cracked window.
“Then let’s push it,” he said simply.
They changed quickly, no words needed, the shifting of clothing and the tightening of shoces a rhythm both familiar and urgent. Saphira pulled her hair back into a braid, her hands moving with automatic precision. Niks stepped beside her as they headed into the hallway, their strides syncing without effort.
Outside, the air bit a little sharper. The trees lining the trail to the clearing swayed in slow arcs, like they sensed what wasing. As they walked, Saphira nced at Niks, the edge of uncertainty tugging at her thoughts.
“I want to be kept in the loop,” she said, voice calm but clipped. “The battle ns with Finn and Jasper. I want to be included. Informed. I can’t fight blind
when it counts.”
Niks’s gaze slid to hers, steady and full. “You will be,” he said. “Same as everyone. When it’s time, we all y a role. I trust you’ll be ready to y yours.”
She exhaled slowly, the tension in her shoulders easing–not vanished but acknowledged. “Thank you.”
The trees parted then, revealing the clearing–the ground packed firm beneath their feet, the quiet stretch of space wide enough to hold whatever strength they had left to unlock.
Niks rolled his shoulders and turned toward her, his gaze sharpening with familiar challenge.”
The clearing shimmered in the early light, dew slicking the grass underfoot as Saphira pulled her braid tighter and nced toward Niks. He stood a few steps away, arms folded, shirt clinging to his chest as the wind whispered through the trees.
Before she could speak, he turned, gaze already focused. “Before we shift,” he said, stepping toward her, “I want to cover some enhanced flight maneuvers. If you can nail them, they’ll trante into aerialbat when we need it.”
Saphira nodded, pulse quickening with anticipation. “You’ll show me?”
Niks gave a half–smile, eyes glinting. “I’ll demonstrate. You copy. We’ll take it from there.”
She inhaled deeply, grounding herself in instinct, and together they stepped into the open space. The shift came fast–energy rushing through her limbs, banes stretching, wings unfurling with a resonant snap of air. Scales shimmered along her nk, catching light as she shook the tension from her shoulders.
Niksunched first, dark wings beating strongly, casting a wide shadow across the clearing. Saphira followed, breath syncing with the pulse in her chest as the ground fell away.
‘<i>Ready</i>? came his voice through the mind–link, calm but clipped.
Always, she answered, wings steady as she matched his altitude.
‘<i>We’re </i>going to <i>cover </i><i>rolls </i><i>first</i><i>,</i>‘ he said, banking hard to the right and curling into a clean side roll–a swift, elegant shift that re flight.
him smoothly to level
Saphira followed, muscles tensing as she attempted the same. Her first pass tilted unevenly, one wing dragging lower than intended. She growled lightly, correcting mid–air. The second try was better–closer, smoother. On the third, she hit the roll clean, wings slicing the air evenly.
Niks circled above and gave a pulse of approval through the link. Forward roll <i>next</i>.”
He tucked his wings, rotated downward in a tight, fluid arc, and pulled up on the other side with a re of momentum. Saphira mimicked his movement, her instincts kicking in–this time, she nailed it on the first attempt, her body reacting before thought caught up.
‘Well done,‘ Niks said through the link, and she felt a flush of pride ripple in her chest.
Then he rose higher, stalling mid–flight before performing a backward roll–slower, more disorienting, the sky and trees flipping in a blur before he corrected into a glide.
Saphira hesitated, then pushed forward. Her first try spun her too far off–axis, tail swinging awkwardly. The second improved but still felt heavy. By the third, she caught the rhythm, though not yet perfectly.
Almost, Niks said. ‘Practice it until <i>it </i>feels <i>effortless</i><i>. </i><i>You’ll </i>need <i>it </i><i>when </i><i>your </i><i>only </i><i>escape </i><i>is </i><i>sky</i><i>–</i><i>bound</i>.”
Saphira steadied herself, wings flexing wide, determination burning behind her <b>eyes</b><b>. </b>
She didn’t want to escape. She wanted to outmanoeuvre. And she would–one roll at a time.