When Jayden awoke later, he didn’t even remember what had happened that morning. But every single part of his spine hurt like his muscles had been butchered up.

He was back in his bed, and the covers were pulled up. He tried to set himself into a sitting position but couldn’t manage to even try.

“Careful, Your Highness. It’ll get worse if you try to sit up,” Jayden heard a servant’s voice from the doorway and tried to crane his neck to see who it was.

“What happened?” Jayden asked the servant, but his face was blank.

“I don’t know. You were out cold when I found you on the training ground, your highness,” the servant said. He set down the tray of food in front of Jayden.

The memories flooded through Jayden’s mind, and he had this overall settling feeling of frustration and sadness over him.

“How long was I even out?” Jayden asked when the servant began looking at him in evident confusion.

“Only a short period. It is barely noon now. Can I check the wounds?” The servant asked gently, and Jayden gave him a nod. He hadn’t thought Noxaura was serious when she meant lashings. They weren’t the direst punishment, but they were higher than his usual punishments.

“There seems to be no infection, do you need anything sire?” the servant asked him.

“There is one thing. Do you know the cottage at the edge of the forest?” Jayden asked.

“The Cohen household, sire?” the servant asked immediately.

Jayden gave him a nod. He took a small piece of parchment in his hand and scrawled a note in his messy handwriting.

“Hand this to their daughter. And don’t you dare tell anyone where you’re going or what you’re doing,” Jayden said and handed the folded parchment to the servant.

The servant just nodded, and he walked out of the room. Jayden tried to lift himself out of bed but failed miserably and just sank back under the covers. But there was something in the back of his mind annoying him.

You’re worthless, and you know it, don’t you. It was a thought that crept into Jayden’s mind more lately when he was alone. 

You’re never going to make it as the King. You have no reason to be here. No one really cares for you. See, your own father lashed you. It won’t be long until you’re disowned. You know that for yourself. They were screaming in his head. It made things harder for him every day. 

The voices were usually weaker and were easy to swat away, but today they seemed even more powerful. Jayden knew it had been a while since he’d tried to use his magic. Surprisingly, this was happening only after he’d stopped doing it, fearing being caught.

He let the voices wage war in the back of his mind and tried to drift into the bliss of sleep. But thoughts were swarming. He was thinking of Elizah again and how it hurt him to stay away from her. Even if he saw her only the night before, he was thinking about her once more.

There was something Jayden began to notice, the tiny fluttering feelings had increased, and his heart practically lept when he saw her. She would manage to make him smile, talk and laugh as if nothing was wrong. He could tell her anything. He never cared about what she’d think, unlike anyone else he usually spoke to. Sometimes when things were at their worst, a small talk with Elizah or just seeing her made him feel happy. He still had the painting he’d made stowed in his closet. It made him happy when he was alone, so it stayed in that closet. It was something Jayden couldn’t comprehend in the slightest.

While he was lost in blissful thoughts, he had one idea that came up and seemed strong enough to push away the other voices. I’ll make sure Elizah’s safe no matter what happens. He thought to himself and drifted into oblivion.

“Well you put on quite a show,” a shadowed figure said as they waited down in the archive chambers again, as another figure walked into the room.

“I wanted to test the limits of my control,” the second said.

“Don’t you think you went a bit far? If the prince had died we would all be in trouble,” the first said, “Remember you are only alive because of me.”

“I’m sorry, I will be careful. But your abilities are stunning. I could control his movements easily,” the second said.

“Don’t get too full of yourself with this first test alone,” the first said and vanished out of the castle within moments.