Elizah stood taken aback and lost as she heard Jayden’s words. She covered her mouth to keep him from seeing her gasp.

“Isn’t this a bit too sudden?” Elizah asked, and Jayden shook his head.

“We don’t have to have a marriage ceremony if that’s what my words seemed like. We could just form a blood bond for now, and in the future when you are ready, we can formally get married,” Jayden said with a small smile, and Elizah looked thoughtful.

“The blood bond, huh?” Elizah thought to herself. The blood bond was a bond typically done between married couples and done as a binding vow in some cases. The blood bond was always between two magic users. It bound their souls together and granted some additional benefits like knowing when the other was in danger.

“I want to stay by your side and help you. If you leave, my life will plunge into darkness, and I don’t want that. I don’t plan to leave your side until you push me away, so that’s why I really wanted to form a blood bond. If we ever decide that we can’t be together, I will go through the severance myself,” Jayden said, and Elizah gave him a shocked look. The severance was painful when a blood bond was broken, and the person’s magical abilities would weaken.

“I-- I don’t know-- I don’t deserve someone in high power like you. You deserve someone much better,” Elizah managed slowly, and her voice was mildly quivering.

“No, don’t say anything like that,” Jayden said and still stood with a hand on her palm.

“You deserve all of this. You’re the only one who I need and want. I’ll never have to leave you again. I’ll always be there at your side,” Jayden said and watched her face turn into a smile.

“Spirits,” Elizah said momentarily, “I don’t know what in their name I’d ever do without you. I love you.”

Elizah brought her face to his and kissed him hard again, and the two of them shared smiles.

“Does this mean you agree?” he asked with a slight grin.

“Of course. I just am really overwhelmed by everything going on,” Elizah said, and a small laugh escaped her lips.

“For a moment I was worried that you wouldn’t,” Jayden said, “I do have a gift for you.”

Jayden reached out into the pocket of his cloak and brought out a small ring. It was glinting in silver and had a small sapphire set into it.

“What? What is this for?” Elizah asked, and Jayden smiled.

“My gift and my promise to you. One day, I will give you a gold ring of the same time,” Jayden said and took Elizah’s calloused hand in his and gently slipped it onto her finger.

“It’s beautiful. How did you even nick something like that in the smallest moments of time?” Elizah asked as she watched his bright green eyes sparkle with a glint of happiness.

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“Mother had given it to me, to give to the girl I felt would suit me. She wanted me to find my betrothed. I’m giving it to the girl I love,” Jayden said and pushed a loose strand from her face behind her ear.

Elizah rose an eyebrow at that and smiled warmly.

“So, do you want to have the ceremony very soon?” Jayden asked, and Elizah nodded.

“I have no worries about that, but would it be alright if Micah and mama came?” Elizah asked, and Jayden nodded rapidly.

“I was going to ask you to bring them. I only want them to come because I can’t have anyone of my own family here who will care, and we need three witnesses,” Jayden said softly. He ensured that he didn’t meet Elizah’s gaze, wondering what she might notice in his eyes.

“We’ll have to leave you after the ceremony though,” Elizah said sadly, “Are you sure you want to come with me?”

“I’ve always been ready to leave the palace because I know that I’m not cut out to be the Prince or the king ever. I need an escape from this life, be free and actually not have to worry about how my public image is or what people will think of me for what I am. I want to have a normal life, not one full of the grandeur of a person I can never be,” Jayden said, and he observed the still surface of the pond.

“Are you absolutely sure that you want to do this?” Elizah asked with her eyes full of concern.

Jayden’s glance showed no uncertainty before he nodded.

“Now, the hardest part will be explaining all this to my mother,” Elizah said and watched the canopy leaves like a giant green blanket.

“Would you mind if you had an extra guest at the dinner table tonight?” Jayden asked, and a slight grin crept upon his face.

Elizah’s eyes widened at the idea, and she smiled. “You want to come over to my small cottage?” Elizah asked, “For one thing, it’ll never be like the palace in any way.”

“That humble home is like my dream. I never wanted all that the castle offered. Just the basic necessities would be of more use than anything else in the place,” Jayden said as he was tying the strings of his cloak.

“Mama would be delighted to see you. And we can break the news together,” Elizah said. Her eyes lit up with a small glimmer of excitement, knowing that her mother and Micah would no longer be in the dark about her magic.

Jayden only smiled warmly before Elizah led the way to her home in the deepest depths of the forest.

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The figure in black watched the Prince walk with his so-called betrothed toward the Cohen household.

Anger burned its way through the person, and they wondered how long they’d have to hide in the shadows and away from the truth. But they also knew that their accomplice would kill them if they made even one small move in the opposite direction.

They’d seen all of this coming and were prepared to let it happen, but now that things were almost here, there was remorse that they couldn’t directly kill Jayden and Elizah.

Without Jayden and Elizah, there would be no way for them and their comrades to actually redeem what indeed belonged to them. The third piece of the puzzle that their comrade was hiding from them, making this more infuriating.

Unbeknownst to themself, a full blue flame slowly snaked down their palm and grew ever so slowly.

Maybe it had been because of the heat of the moment, or rather they were heading over to the one house that broke all of whoever they once had been. They knew that their most significant pain would be seeing that household devoid of the one who had failed them. So did their comrade, who wanted to break all of the resolutions they had for revenge.

“I will have every chance to torture everything from the two of you for what the past has done to me,” they said in a menacing tone and extinguished the fire before following Jayden and Elizah down the trail to the one house that brought out the most bitter memories inside them.