When Jayden awoke, he was chained to the ground with handcuffs. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t without pain erupting throughout his chest. He didn’t remember anything that happened. He followed the pain in his chest and found a scar across his chest.

Immediately, he began to feel around him, looking for any signs of life or anyone else in the cell and then felt a limp hand by his side.

He crawled over and breathed a quick sigh of relief upon noticing a streak of blonde hair, hoping it was Elizah.

“Spirits,” Jayden said as he reached out and felt for a pulse while worrying about the fact that she was possibly dead. He let out a silent thought to the spirits, something he picked up with all his time with Elizah.

“Please, please,” Jayden pleaded as he felt around in the dark. He wanted to scream. He was on the verge of breaking down completely. If she was gone, he would be ready to destroy Noxaura for whatever she did.

There was a small but faint pulse that he felt slowly flutter. He relaxed slightly. He pulled up the figure of who he thought was Elizah into a sitting position against a wall and ignited flames upon his palm, and relaxed when he saw her face. Her face was pale but was easily identifiable from her freckles.

He was careful as he put his palm on hers, trying to revive her through their bond. It was still fresh, so expecting it to work was a high hope, but his only chance left. He tried to gently push some heat into the scar of the bond.

There was a sudden jolt as Elizah’s breath could be heard in the room. He was careful as he illuminated Elizah’s face and her eyes fluttered wide open.

“Oh, Spirits,” Elizah exclaimed softly as she embraced Jayden tightly with her left arm and gasped for breath.

She was breathing heavily and was trying to lift her right arm but instead was filled with a searing pain whenever she did. She was scared of whatever was going on. She had no idea where she was, but right now, all that mattered was the fact that Jayden was alive.

Jayden gently brushed her messy shoulder-length hair, and his hand was careful as he touched her shoulder. Elizah winced and bit back a scream as tears streamed down her cheeks rapidly.

“Jayden,” she managed between ragged breaths as he removed his hand from her shoulder almost immediately.

Elizah let out a sigh and closed her eyes tightly as she embraced the waves of pain that made their way throughout her. They were sharp as if a thousand swords were being pulled in and out of her shoulder and arms. She squeezed Jayden’s hand tightly, and it was pretty clear that something was wrong.

“Elizah, are you alright?” Jayden asked with the concern shining through his eyes. He was sure that he did nothing to hurt her, but she seemed to be in immense pain.

She opened her eyes within a few minutes and took some time to catch her breath. She was still clutching her shoulder and shaking with the fear evident in her eyes.

“Everything will be alright,” Jayden said gently as he placed his hand on her cheek, and she calmed down slightly.

“It’s worse than anything I’ve ever felt,” Elizah only managed as she glanced at her shoulder.

Jayden frowned slightly before slowly peeling Elizah’s hand away from the point. He let out a small gasp as he saw the damage underneath.

There were twisted burn marks and cuts covering the shoulder and stretching down to her arm. They were deep, and the damage was far beyond repairable by the looks.

“Who did this?” he asked her gently. Whoever it was, they would get a piece of his mind in return.

“I would prefer that we don’t discuss this. You don’t remember what happened,” Elizah responded in both fear and sadness. She knew if she told him the truth, it would be hard to process.

“You deserve justice Liz. This is far beyond any injuries I’ve seen, and they definitely crossed a line,” Jayden growled in a fury at the way Elizah had been hurt.

They sat in silence, and Elizah sighed as she debated her choices.

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“It was your mother,” Elizah said softly as she winced again as Jayden’s hands suddenly stopped where the scars ended bluntly.

He felt like he had been slapped in the face, hard and harsh. Elizah’s pain became his, and he wanted to scream and yell. But he remained silent as he was lost on what he could possibly do.

Noxaura was none other than his own mother, who had raised him from his birth, but there was also the fact that she had destroyed everything he loved and cared for. Was it right to be angry, or should he have remained passive? It was spinning through his head, making all his thoughts blur.

He closed his eyes and rested his head on the wall behind him. He bent his head to hide his face from Elizah. They sat in silence for a while, and Jayden put his hands to his eyes to hide his tears.

“It’s all my fault isn’t it?” Jayden said as his eyes closed tighter.

Elizah studied him before just looking at him curiously, “What in Spirit’s name do you mean?”

“If I hadn’t been such an idiot to pull you into this havoc, wouldn’t everything be fine?” Jayden whispered.

Elizah looked mildly bewildered before laughing.

“Jayden Larkspear, if you hadn’t pulled me into this havoc, many things would have gone wrong. I’d still be the target of the bullies from school, my stepfather wouldn’t have left, Micah wouldn’t have come home, and I would have been alone to discover my powers. If I had to say anything about you, you’re the one thing that has always been right in my life,” Elizah said gently, and Jayden only looked up slightly.

“I’ve brought equivalent destruction upon our lives as well, if you don’t recall,” Jayden said with sadness as he gestured to their present state.

“There has to be a balance. That’s the law of the world,” Elizah said, and Jayden managed to laugh slightly.

“Are you quoting Jade now?” Jayden asked, and Elizah laughed slightly as she laced her hand into Jayden’s.

“Last I checked, I didn’t grow that old yet,” Elizah responded, and Jayden only grinned.

“This could be the end of the new beginning I wanted for us,” Jayden said glumly as the mood of laughter dulled once more.

“Look, Jayden. If these are my last few moments, there’s nowhere I’d rather be other than with you. Even if it’s in this dingy mess of a dungeon cell. I enjoyed all my time in service to you, your highness. I value this relationship, I love you and I always will. I don’t know what Noxaura has in store for the two of us, but no matter what, I’m ready to face it. I’m ready to walk through the depths of Hell or even move mountains to favour you. If it means I can save your life, I’m ready for it,” Elizah said with tears glistening in her eyes.

Before Jayden could even respond, Elizah leaned in and kissed him hard. Their lips were locked, and only the two of them mattered for that single instant. She was the douse to his fire, and he was the calm to her anger. No matter how much of a threat leaned over their lives, nothing could change that.

Eventually, Elizah broke off the moment while she held her shoulder. She tried to force some power into the wound, but it was no use.

She sat near the wall, and Jayden’s hand lit up with blue flames as he observed her face keenly.

His other hand left Elizah’s grasp and gently brushed her shoulder, where her hair was.

“You still look beautiful, she can’t change that,” Jayden said with a gentle smile as he toyed with the short yet uneven strands that framed Elizah’s face.

Elizah only managed a smile.

“We’ve had one hell of a day,” Elizah said with a short laugh.

“Probably one day I’d be grateful to forget for a while,” Jayden added with a small smile.

“Amen to that. In fact, I’m glad that the ceremony was complete before chaos erupted. Otherwise, she could separate us in other ways,” Elizah answered.

“Now we are bonded for life and death. So really there is nothing that can take either of us away,” Jayden answered again as he watched the shadows of someone walking towards their cell.

Jayden gave a silent warning to Elizah that someone would be approaching the room within moments, and she heeded the warning and moved towards the doors to take a look at who it was.

If it was Noxaura, Elizah was ready with her arm to aim, and Jayden had his hand raised with a whip of flame. But if it was someone else, they would try to find their way out of the place.

A tall man with a grim look and the colours of the royal family on his crest made his way to the location, and Elizah relaxed slightly. She nodded to Jayden, and he dimmed his flames.

“Look, Prince Jayden. I really don’t want to hurt you in any way. I’m stuck doing this as per the queen’s orders,” the man said as he looked Jayden in the eye. Jayden immediately recognized the man as one of the new recruits that the King had placed under Jayden’s training.

“At least tell me what in the spirit’s name this is all for,” Jayden pleaded as the guy handcuffed Elizah’s wrist.

“She was right. This woman has brainwashed you and all of your beliefs,” the guard said, “don’t you know that the spirits don’t exist?”

Jayden was outraged at that. He pulled out an entire blade of flame and struck in the direction of the man’s face. But that really didn’t help in the situation.

Elizah was careful as she slightly put her fingers on Jayden’s wrist, and he calmed down slowly as she gave him a small dose of her power.

“It isn’t going to help if we fight them. Let us get this over with,” Elizah whispered.

Jayden only nodded reluctantly, and he offered his two hands to the other soldier who showed up.

“This is a formal trial. Do not in any way engage in magical activity on the spot, unless you want instant death,” the second soldier said. Jayden and Elizah only exchanged a worried glance of agreement before they were taken through two different corridors. The same thought echoed in their minds, may the spirits be in our favour.