Jayden sat in his cell and fidgeted in frustration. He wanted to be in the inquisitorial room instead of Elizah, but he knew there was nothing he could do about the situation. His hands were raging with uncontrollable flames, and they didn’t douse no matter what he did. And meanwhile, the scar of his blood bond was burning, letting Jayden know that Elizah was in danger.

Jayden sighed, sat down, and thought about something to dull the burning feeling. Elizah’s words made him rethink everything about himself. He never really thought of himself as the kind of man to rule a territory in the future. In fact, after the number of times that Noxaura had told him that he’d never be the king, he’d accepted that to be a fact.

He wasn’t the type of ruler that people wanted. He’d always heard Noxaura say that to Cyprian, which he believed.

She was just trying to comfort you. That doesn’t mean it’s true. Jayden heard a voice whisper in the back of his head, making him only more annoyed.

The flames in his right palm grew, and Jayden looked down at it. He pressed his hand down to the ground to reduce the intensity of the fire. But instead, his hand felt like the bones inside were burning, and the stone floor just sizzled.

He almost let out a scream but instead lifted his hand rapidly, and both hands extinguished almost immediately.

He held this right hand in his left and cradled it momentarily until the burning sensation finally reduced.

“My Lord,” there was someone outside the gates of the cell. They were holding what seemed to be a lady in a wrapped shawl. Jayden noticed the man opening the gate. The man then laid the woman on the floor.

“I found her in the inquisitorial chambers. I don’t know who did this to her,” the man said in fear of what Jayden would say.

“Thank you for bringing her here,” Jayden said as he was about to remove the shawl, but then, in fear of the heat of his palms, he turned back to the man near the cell gate.

“Can I get some water in a bucket, if that’s not too much to ask?” Jayden asked the man, and the man nodded as he hurried away.

Jayden waited for a moment until the man returned with a small metal bucket of water and set it inside the cell.

Jayden thanked the man and dipped his burning right hand into the bucket, and the water made a slight hissing sound, instantly steaming. Slowly, the sensation returned to Jayden’s hand.

He then was careful as she removed the shawl covering the woman and hiding her face. Jayden had already guessed that it was Elizah, but when he saw the bloodstained cloth, he was worried about her state.

He tore off a bit of the cloth in his right hand and illuminated a tiny portion of his left hand to see her face. Her face was red and swollen, and it was near impossible to recognize that it was Elizah.

He carefully used the small piece of the cloth to wipe away the bloodstained markings and actually see where the scars were.

Eventually, he managed to wipe away most of the blood and grime from Elizah’s face and neck to see her features. To put it simply, it was a big surprise that she wasn’t dead yet. With all her wounds, the fact that she was breathing even slightly was a big surprise.

She had one long scar stretching down her right cheek from her eye to the jawline, which extended into a scar that swirled around Elizah’s neck like a spiral. There was also a small extension of the entire scar that stretched up to her shoulder and collarbone.

Jayden tried to put the scar of his blood bond on his right palm near Elizah’s heart and slowly let a small amount of his energy into her system to keep her alive for a while. The power in her own body would be enough to allow some healing but not enough to sustain her lifeforce. This was something that Jade had warned them about their powers and their limits. In case they were injured, especially in critical situations, the energy is usually directed at healing and maintaining the life force doesn’t take a priority in the body, possibly killing the person in the process.

There was a rattling sound near the cell gates, and a small bottle was slid into the cell.

‘Use this for her. It’ll make her get better faster- J’ the note read, and Jayden only smiled. Jayden had guessed that Jade had dropped the bottle into the chambers. She had probably noticed that Elizah had been hurt during the trial and wanted to help the two of them.

He looked at the liquid contents of the bottle and tipped it into Elizah’s mouth after opening her lips slightly. It looked like a sleeping potion that Elizah had made some time ago to give to Jade as practice for her control.

A wave of exhaustion enveloped Jayden due to his energy use, so he leaned against the wall and held Elizah’s limp hand in his as he only wished for the spirits to keep Elizah safe.

“Well, you seem terrible at following instructions,” a voice was heard from the entryway of Noxaura’s chambers.

Noxaura, who was tying her hair down into a braid, turned rapidly to see her comrade’s mocking figure standing at the door.

“I’m surprised by how you always manage to find out about anything I do,” Noxaura grumbled under her breath.

“That’s my job isn’t it? To keep you nitwits from going against my rules,” the comrade said as they brought a blade into their arm.

“If anything, I’m helping you, unlike him,” Noxaura answered with distaste in her voice. Her hatred for her other companion was quite evident.

“You’re still annoyed by everything he did, yet I shouldn’t be annoyed with you and your attitude. I’m surprised, you hypocrite,” her companion answered in a mocking tone as they aimed a blade towards Noxaura’s head and threw it only for Noxaura to catch.

“You don’t know about half the things he did,” Noxaura said in clear annoyance, “Are you trying to murder me?”

Her comrade looked at her mildly amused. “A slight punishment my dear, for messing with everything I wish to do,” they answered and strolled up to Noxaura.

“You and your ways aren’t going to get you anywhere,” Noxaura said with a laugh.

“Is that a threat?” her comrade asked with a smirk.

“I’m not really sure, it depends on your interpretation of the entire thing,” Noxaura said as she played with the knife.

“Are you doubting me? If so, you are free to leave my acquaintance,” the other person responded with clear evenness in her tone.

“You say you have a plan, and the Prince and that farm scum have no idea what an amulet is,” Noxaura laughed.

“Wait and watch Noxaura, wait and watch,” the comrade said, and they threw one more blade towards Noxaura’s face and nicked her hair before it embedded itself in the wall.

“You haven’t seen everything that I can do, Noxaura, and I promise you won’t last long after that,” they said and strolled out of the room with a smirk.