Land of the Destined

Chapter 29 - Balance

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.