<b>CHAPTER </b><b>116 </b>


    The game room door swung open, and the girls spilled in with easyughter, their <b>voices </b><b>bouncing </b>off the polished wood floors. Amara shot forward like a bolt of lightning, her ponytail <b>swinging </b>


    behind her. “Ok


    teams!” she announced, already chalking a cue with theatrical precision. <b>“</b><b>Saphira </b>and Raven versus me and Anastasia–and Zafira, you swap in next game<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    Saphira raised an eyebrow, exchanging a nce with Raven. Her lips twitched. <i>Here </i><i>we </i>go. She nudged Raven with her elbow, voice low and teasing. “You do realise you’re the worst at this<b>, </b><b>right</b><b>?</b><b>” </b>


    Raven snorted, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “She’s got heart, though. That counts <b>for </b>


    something.”


    As they moved toward the table, Saphira reached out and caught Raven’s wrist, her fingers curling gently but firmly. She tugged her back a step, just enough to slip out of the others‘ earshot. The warmth of Raven’s skin lingered against her fingertips.


    “I want the dets,” she murmured, her voice dipped in mischief. Her eyes narrowed, yful but sharp.


    “You and Jed. I saw the look.”


    Raven’s cheeks red pink, her gaze darting toward the door like she expected him to materialise. “Later,” she whispered, barely audible. “Promise.”


    Saphira nodded, lips curving. <i>She’s </i><i>blushing</i><i>. </i><i>That’s </i><i>confirmation </i><i>enough</i><i>. </i>She released Raven’s wrist and let the moment slide back into the rhythm of the room.


    They rejoined the others, and the games began–cues cking, balls scattering in bursts of colour,ughter rising and falling like waves. Saphira leaned against the edge of the table, her fingers drumming absently on the wood as she watched Amara line up a shot with exaggerated focus.


    A couple of rounds in, Amara predictably camest. She stood with her cue like a sword, staring at the table in mock despair. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!” she groaned, flopping dramatically


    onto the edge.


    Zafira snorted from the sidelines, arms crossed. “Try potting your own balls, not everyone else’s.<b>” </b>


    Amara gasped, clutching her chest. “Rude!”


    Anastasiaughed and slipped an arm around Amara’s shoulders, pulling her close. “I’ll help you build your skills. Then you can beat us all.”


    Amara’s face lit up, her mood flipping like a switch. But soon she excused herself to find Finn, and Anastasia followed<b>, </b>fingers pressed to her temple. “Headache,” she murmured. “I’ll see you allter<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    Soft goodbyes echoed, and then the room settled. Just Saphira, Zafira, and Raven <b>now</b>.


    <b>1/4 </b>


    They drifted toward the seating area in <b>the </b>centre, each grabbing a <b>drink </b>from <b>the mini </b><b>fridge</b><b>. </b>Saphira wrapped her fingers around the chilled ss, the condensation slick <b>against </b>her <b>skin</b><b>. </b>She sank into one of the plush chairs, letting it cradle her.


    Saphira curled deeper into the plush chair, one leg tucked beneath her, the other stretched <b>out </b>just enough for her drink to rest against her knee.


    Raven shifted beside her, her voice gentle, almost hesitant. “Zafira… how are you dealing <b>with </b>Asher being out there still? With barely anymunication?”


    Saphira nced sideways, watching Zafira’s fingers tighten around her ss. Her knuckles whitened slightly, and she stared at the rim as if it held answers she hadn’t found yet.


    “It’s hard,” Zafira said finally, her voice low and raw. “I don’t really know what to do most of the time. But keeping busy helps. If I stop, I start thinking too much.”


    Saphira leaned forward, elbows resting on her thighs, the drink cradled loosely in her hands. Her chest ached with empathy. <i>She’s </i><i>holding </i><i>it </i><i>together</i><i>, </i><i>but </i><i>only </i><i>just</i><i>. </i>“I admire you,<b>” </b>she said softly. “Honestly, if it were Niks out there… I don’t think I’d cope half as well. Part of me is scared- about everything we still have to face.<b>” </b>


    Zafira nodded, her expression shadowed, eyes distant. Raven reached out and brushed her fingers against Zafira’s arm, a quiet gesture of solidarity.


    “We’ll manage,” Raven said, her voice steady. “Together. As a team. With our mates… and as friends.


    As family.”


    The wordnded like a spark in the quiet.


    Saphira blinked, her gaze flicking to Zafira just as her friend’s eyes widened. Zafira sat up straighter, her tone sharp with curiosity. “Our mates? Who is your mate then?”


    Saphira’s head snapped toward Raven, her pulse quickening. She grinned, leaning in with sudden energy. “Yeah, Raven. Who is your mate?”


    Raven hesitated, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked down at her drink as if it might shield her from the moment. Then, finally, she whispered, “Jed. We’ve… we’ve be chosen mates.”


    Saphira’s smile bloomed instantly, warmth flooding her chest. <i>I </i><i>knew </i><i>it</i><i>. </i><i>The </i><i>tension</i>, the <i>spark</i><i>, </i><i>the </i><i>way </i><i>she </i><i>always </i><i>found </i><i>him </i><i>first </i><i>in </i><i>a </i><i>room</i><i>–</i><i>it </i><i>was </i><i>written </i><i>all </i><i>over </i><i>her</i><i>. </i>


    Zafira, however, shot to her feet with a squeal, her drink nearly toppling. “What?! When? How? Where?!”


    Ravenughed, cheeks still burning. Saphira chuckled, raising her brows. “Have you been so <b>blinded </b>


    <b>by </b>your own new mate that you missed all the signs<b>?</b><b>” </b>


    Raven tilted her head, amused. “What signs?”


    Saphira gestured vaguely with her drink, the ice clinking softly. “The way you looked <b>at </b><b>each </b>other. How you always wanted to be teamed up. And just… the air around you. It changed.” ir around you. It changed.”


    Zafira dropped back into her seat, eyes wide and sparkling. “Okay, but how<i>? </i>I need details.<b>” </b>


    Saphira nodded eagerly. “Same. Spill.”


    Raven exhaled slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. “It waste. We were out searching for Damon–just the two of us. The woods were quiet, too quiet. We’d been dancing around it for so long,” her gaze distant. “The tension, the pull… it was always there. But we kept pretending it wasn’t. I didn’t want to take away his chance to find his true mate. And… the sacrifice a dragon makes when mating with a non–dragon.”


    Zafira leaned in, eyes wide, her drink cradled against her chest like a secret. Saphira could feel the air shift, heavy with emotion and the weight of choice.


    “But that night,” Raven said, her voice thickening, “we stopped pretending. One moment we were arguing about the trail, the next… he looked at me like I was the only thing anchoring him. And I felt it. That pull. That certainty.”


    Saphira’s breath caught. <i>That </i><i>kind </i><i>of </i><i>look</i>… <i>it </i><i>changes </i><i>everything</i>.


    “We kissed,” Raven admitted, her lips curving into a soft smile. “And it wasn’t just a kiss. It was like something ancient woke up inside me. Inside him. We didn’t speak for a while after. We <b>just</b>… knew<b>.</b>”


    Saphira’s fingers tightened around her ss<i>. </i>


    “We talked about it the next morning,” Raven said. “About the risks. About what he’d lose. And he said he didn’t care. That he’d rather have me, even if it meant he wasn’t as strong. That we’d find a way to make up for it together.”


    Saphira’s heart swelled. She reached out and touched Raven’s knee, supporting her. “You’re brave,” she said quietly. “That kind of love… it’s worth the risk.”


    Raven nodded, her eyes shimmering. “We decided that morning. Chosen mates. No more waiting. No more fear.”


    Zafira let out a breath, her voice hushed. “That’s beautiful.”