The Dragon's Secret Name

Chapter 6

Kate’s POV

During the time I spent under the Pale King’s watch, I unwillingly learned a great deal about things I never would’ve known if my parents hadn’t sold me to the ruler of all fae beings. And among the strangest—or at least the most interesting—bits of information I picked up from him or his servants, learning that the fae have different gods than the ones I knew was one of the most bizarre.

When the human and fae worlds were still one—back when both peoples coexisted in harmony and the Veil hadn’t yet been raised to hide magical creatures from human eyes—all living beings devoted their faith to the Seven Dragon Gods, deities tied to the elements of nature. But at some point, humans abandoned that faith… and never picked up another.

I look in the same direction Dan is staring so intently—at the altar, where faded stained-glass panels depict those scaled deities—trying to guess what’s going through his head. He seems to have forgotten entirely about the situation that brought us here.

Silence hangs heavy around us. The moss- and ivy-covered walls seem to sigh beneath the weight of decades. Broken tiles let in shafts of light that project shimmering patterns onto the floor, flickering like ancient ghosts.

Six of the stained-glass windows still stand, rising like portals to another world. Dirty, chipped, cracked—but miraculously intact enough to reveal, in fractured colored light, the divine dragons. But the seventh, in the far left corner, is shattered. All that remains are shards of glass clinging to the window frame. The dragon once depicted there can no longer be recognized.

“You’re a dragon too—a magical creature.” I fold my legs into a lotus position to sit more comfortably. Dan keeps his gaze locked on the faded glass figures. “I thought you knew them.”

Dan doesn’t answer right away, nor does he turn to look at me. There’s something very strange about his stillness, the way he stays motionless, like a statue, as if he isn’t even hearing my voice—except for his tail, which continues to lash the floor. Yet the sound of his heavy breathing reaches my ears with unnerving clarity. Is that a sign of anger or nerves?

“I do know them,” Dan finally says, and I see him tilt his head slightly toward a specific panel—the middle one—showing a delicate white dragon. “I just forgot that, once, they were loved by humans too.”

“So, I can assume you know their names and stories far better than I ever could?”

Slowly, Dan turns, giving his back to the stained-glass and facing me with an expression that’s hard to read—furrowed brows, the corner of his mouth pulled down. He doesn’t look happy, but he sighs and shrugs.

“Well, young mistress. You’re human. What difference would it make for you to understand the gods your kind abandoned and forgot?”

“If it doesn’t matter, then why have you been staring at them for so long?” I press. “And why won’t your tail stop slamming into the floor like that?”

He stops instantly.

He’s been all teeth, claws, and sharp answers since the beginning—and now he isn’t. It feels like he’s running from something. Maybe he is. But just when I think I might see a different reaction, Dan smiles and lifts his shackled hands in a careless gesture.

“Because dragons are far too proud to feel pleased remembering that somewhere in creation there are—or were—beings like them, only more powerful,” he says. “Especially when even in human lands, where they dream of grinding our bones for seasoning, traces of that fact still linger.”

I press my lips into a thin line.

Whether he’s lying to me or not, there’s still truth in those words. Just look at him: captured and bound by someone who knows his Secret Name. And right now, two people know it—me, who just stole it, and my temporary father, who definitely won’t rest until he gets back the magical creature he was duped into buying, and who cost more than I could ever make in a lifetime.

I decided it’s better not to keep pushing this subject. Making Dan angry isn’t what I want. Besides, as he said himself, maybe it really doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve got more pressing things to worry about. Forgotten gods can wait for another day.

“Whatever. Forget it,” I say with a shrug, leaning back on my hands. I look at the ceiling for a few seconds, then at him, focusing on the collar and shackles. I think for a bit, then ask, “If I try to take those things off, do you explode, become a hurricane, or just say thank you?”

Dan lets out a breathy chuckle, shifting his weight onto one leg.

“That depends… Want to find out? At this point, I don’t really care what happens anymore.” But his smirk fades gradually, probably because he notices my expression hasn’t changed. He looks down at the cuffs like they suddenly weigh more, then back at me, raising an eyebrow skeptically. “You’re not actually suggesting you’ll try to free me, are you?”

“That depends. Want to find out?” I echo his words on purpose, and don’t flinch when I hear a low growl rumble from his throat. It wasn’t loud or threatening—more like a reflex than a choice. “Tell me everything you know about them. What you said back in the carriage wasn’t enough for me to figure anything out.”

Dan studies me with those strange eyes. The blackness around his glowing yellow irises only adds to the mystery he already carries. He seems to weigh something in silence for nearly a full minute before speaking:

“I know as much as you do, young mistress. And what I know, I’ve already told you. Only someone who knows my Secret Name—like you—can remove the shackles and collar. If I try, they punish me with pain.”

“Right…” That doesn’t help at all, but I need to think of something anyway. “If I don’t have instructions, then I guess I’ll just have to rely on good old trial and error… hoping I figure it out before I accidentally barbecue you.”

“So reassuring…”

I get to my feet and dust off my pants. Then I step closer to Dan, stopping in front of him and raising a hand in a silent request to examine the shackles more closely.

Still a bit wary, Dan rests both wrists on my fingers, and I’m surprised to realize just how large his hands are compared to mine. Not to mention the claws—black as the cool skin on that part of his arm, each one the size of a wolf’s tooth.

“Do you remember if the Hunters said anything specific when they put these on you?” I ask, running my fingers over the metal, where I see runic markings carved in low relief. That must be the spell triggered when he tries to remove them himself.

“Nothing useful.” Dan’s tail starts moving again, and I catch it slithering across the floor out of the corner of my eye. “They just slapped them on me and started mocking. And I doubt mockery has anything to do with the right way to take them off.”

He falls silent again, but I don’t see his expression because I’m too focused on the runes—so different from the ones I’ve seen in any magic books I’ve managed to get my hands on. I have no idea what they say. The shapes are strange, maybe older. This spell might be older than I thought.

“I know my hands are quite fascinating, young mistress, but I don’t think staring at them will get us anywhere,” Dan says, pulling my attention back to his slit-pupiled eyes. “By the way, why do you want to free me? I thought your big plans for me involved making me your pet. A collar seems appropriate.”

I keep examining the cuffs.

“I won’t lie. I was going to keep the collar—just as a little insurance,” I reply. “But these damn things are inconvenient for both of us. Besides, I didn’t steal you to turn you into a pet—or a slave.”

I grab the cold metal and give it a shake, trying to find any kind of latch or mechanism that might release it, assuming that physical contact with someone who knows his Secret Name could be the key—but nothing happens.

Frustrated, I lift my head and meet a serious look on Dan’s face. His distrust is almost tangible.

“What does my young mistress want from me, then?” he asks.

At this point, I have no reason to hide anything from him. So my answer comes fast and direct:

“I went into that auction thinking I’d find the wingless dragon who saved me eight years ago, who helped me escape the Pale King’s grasp. I went in there to steal him. But I found you instead.”

Dan’s eyes widen, visibly shocked. I go on:

“I don’t know if you and that dragon are the same, even though both of you have scars on your back. And now that we’re here, it doesn’t really matter anymore.” I tighten my grip on the cuffs, as if Dan might suddenly vanish from in front of me, and all my effort would have been for nothing. “What I want from you… is your help. And if everything goes right, I’ll not only give you back your Secret Name—I’ll help you erase it from that man’s memory too.”