Chapter 4

Kate’s POV

Cursed dragon.

I have little time to think and act from now on.

Once undone, Master of Lies leaves a fog of confusion in the mind of the victim, who will spend valuable seconds trying to understand what is happening; perhaps even trying to remember who they are.

My temporary father blinks rapidly, alternating his gaze between me and Dan while contorting his face in a disgruntled expression.

"Witch...?" The old man murmurs, furrowing his brow.

"What an awful way to refer to your own daughter," I say to confuse him even more and perhaps buy some time for myself, then I jump to my feet.

"Daughter? But I don't have children..."

"Well, that's not what this witch wants you to think," Dan speaks behind me.

I make a mental note to hold his horns and shake his head when I get the chance.

"You really think you're funny, don't you?"

"I swear, I’m trying to contain myself."

I don't know what Dan gains or loses by ruining my charade, but I won't worry about him now.

"Who are you two?" The old man stammers and points at us with a trembling finger. "What are you doing in my carriage?"

The fog effect must be about to dissipate.

The limited space inside this carriage would prevent me from turning my body to kick my temporary father, so I grabbed his wrist and pulled him with force, making him hit his face on my bent knee. This stroke was strong enough to leave him disoriented. But before pushing him back into his seat, I toss Dan's chain to my other hand, which has been sore since I obtained the invitation to the auction, and land a punch right in the middle of the old man's face.

Now I have two sore hands, but my temporary father is unconscious.

"Wow!" Dan lets out a rough laugh as I shove the old man and start rummaging through his coat's inner pockets. "For someone your size, you have a pretty strong punch, huh?"

"And if you don't shut the hell up, you'll find out how strong it is, too!" I say through gritted teeth, not looking at him, and finally find what I want.

I pull the document out of my temporary father's coat, struggling a bit as I unroll it and try to stay on my feet even with the carriage's sway.

Where is it? I almost fell seated on one of the old man's legs, but I lean against the carriage's roof to try to find some balance.

My eyes quickly skim over the rules described at the top of the page, which are not relevant now, although I just saved the last one for later. Then, my eyes finally hover over what will give me total power over this annoying dragon from now on.

The feeling is unlike anything I could imagine for that moment. The air enters my lungs slowly, as if, suddenly, something is blocking my throat. And, during the time it took me to read the dragon's Secret Name, the world around me seemed to disappear.

It's not just one word, nor two or three, but an entire sentence, written in a runic language that, even though I've never seen it before, I can understand so well that it sends cold shivers down my shoulders.

The runic letters seem to dance on the paper, rearranging themselves to show me the terrible meaning of those words that sound like something mysterious, dangerous, and much older than this divided world.

There it is written: Dhaz’khul noburz taluh nan olo’shat ghazhu.

Upon absorbing the terrible meaning behind it, I wonder once again how it was possible to capture this dragon; to collar and shackle a creature bearing such a Secret Name.

I stare at Dan on the other seat of the carriage, and he looks back at me with those yellow irises, surrounded by the darkness of his scleras. But, for the first time since we met, I don't feel any sense of intimidation. He looks tired now, maybe even sad; his smile has completely vanished.

I believe having your Secret Name uncovered is like baring your soul against your will; a terrifying experience, much like that runic phrase’s meaning.

"You are the Shadow that devours everything in its dark embrace," I pronounce in a low tone. My body shivers, and Dan tenses his shoulders, closing his eyes and lowering his face, as if hearing my voice caused him pain.

"Nice to meet you too, witch," he says with dejection.

Only now do I notice that, just below his eyes, there are black marks descending to his cheeks. It gives the impression that one day, Dan cried so much that the path of his tears was forever etched on his face.

"You already got what you wanted." Without making any noise, his tail starts beating on the carriage floor. "What do you intend to do now? Think fast. The master is unconscious, and his servants haven't realized your mischief yet. Or maybe they have and don't care because, if he dies, they would be free. But we haven't left the city yet, and many people are on the sidewalks."

I swallow hard. He's right. Trying to leave discreetly is no longer an option at this point. But before deciding, I hastily stuff the document into my clothes and sit next to Dan again.

"Quick, give me your arms."

"Literal?" He asks but still complies, extending his arms toward me. "You need to be careful with the things you're going to ask me from now on."

"Don't be silly." I grab his wrists, trying to understand how those handcuffs work, to see if I need to use a key to open them or if there's some kind of lock. I find nothing, and it frustrates me a bit. "Can't you free yourself?"

"If I could, I would have been trying since they put this damn thing on me." He rolls his eyes. "From what I heard from the Hunters while confined in a cage, these handcuffs, like the collar around my neck, can only be removed by someone who knows my Secret Name. If I make any attempt to remove them myself, I get electrocuted, and that's not an experience I'd like to repeat. So, good luck trying to figure out how to get rid of this."

I click my tongue.

"So that'll have to wait."

"What do you mean by... wait...?"

Dan falls silent because I get up and just kick the carriage door until it opens onto the streets.

"Wait until we figure out how to get out of here and shake off anyone trying to pursue us," I say when I grab his chain again and hop out, even though it's not a good idea to do so while holding the leash of a horned man much larger than me.

"Are you cra—"

The dragon doesn't have time to finish his sentence. My weight pulls him out of the carriage, and we both fall onto the hot asphalt; me on my back and Dan with his face on the ground.

He growls loudly and uses his tail to turn over, grumbling about leaving one hell to get into another. It would be funny if I weren't more concerned about getting up as quickly as possible and then helping him do the same.

"When I said you'd need to think fast to get us out of there, I didn't imagine you'd try to kill us at the same time!" Dan snarls the words as I struggle to get him on his feet, but he ends up doing it himself and shakes his head to get rid of the black strands that fell over his eyes. "And now, young mistress? What's the next brilliant idea?"

I don't respond, and I don't try to tell him to shut up (again).

Passersby are looking at us with confusion written on their faces as the carriage stops a little further from where Dan and I fell.

I hear the horses neighing, and my temporary father's servants cast annoyed glances in our direction. Yet, none of them is the man pointing an accusing finger at us and shouting, "This woman killed Lord Redmond! Seize her!"