The way back from Zunin was a grim affair.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Cage was aware that he should be comforting Jazz for what had happened with Jinx. But his entire being seemed consumed by his encounter with Kat. By the chill inside her.

She felt and didn't feel like Kat at the same time. He loved her and didn't love her at the same time.

He was furious and saddened and every emotion in between.

Damn those fairies and their games.

But of one thing he was certain. He'd done the right thing by refusing that impossible proposition. For a moment, he wondered if Kat had expected him to ever accept it. Maybe she thought that his feelings for her would make him give her anything she asked for. If she even remembered that he loved her.

You don't love her anymore.

The affirmation felt like a lie, even with all of Cecille's magic. It only added to the weight inside him. Nothing was going as it should, not even his magical help. Because just like humans couldn't understand the magical, neither could the fairies understand what it meant to be without it.

"We should head for General Harkiss' camp," Jazz said, finally breaking the silence. His voice was blank, lacking any trace of a feeling.

"What the fuck?" Trix said, pulling the reins and stopping his horse. Night had fallen around them and it led to a near crash as their guards hurried to steer their horses around them.

"Trix..." Jazz said, sounding defeated.

"No! What the fuck was that? I sort of expected it from Kat, but Jinx?"

Cage indicated that the soldiers should continue around them and further into the night. "I don't think this is helping Jazz," he said once they were alone.

"This whole thing is not helping anyone. What was the point of everything we've been through if we're divided like this?"

Cage could see his point and understood his frustration, but it wasn't helping, not when both he and Jazz were torn up. A tighter knot lodged in his throat. He didn't want to do this, but Jazz was his friend, and that was more important than what he or his kingdom needed.

"Jazz," he said, his voice low. "Jinx was right about one thing. You're Talian. You don't owe Iride anything. And I know how much she means to you. So if you want--"

"Jason." Jazz reached out his hand, cutting him off.

Cage stared, taken aback. "I know your name."

"What?" Tirx asked, and the shock in that simple word matched the look on Jazz's face.

"Lord Terrani mentioned it. Didn't we discuss it?" Why was this surprising?

"You don't know?" Trix asked.

"Why do you go by Cage?" Jazz asked at the same time.

Cage had no idea who to answer first, but he decided to go with Jazz. "It was a silly nickname my best friend gave me when we were in the navy. I kept complaining to him that my family was keeping me locked up, figuratively speaking, and he told me to cage my entitled drivel. It sort of spiraled from there."

Trix and Jazz both gawped at him as if he'd spoken goblinish.

"But you solely go by Cage now," Jazz said carefully.

He shrugged. "Yeah. It grew on me. It became a representation of my life at sea, of my freedom. There were few people who called me by my name instead of my title anyway, so I didn't miss it. Why are you so shocked by this?"

"Cage, names hold power," Jazz said. "You didn't know that? I was sure that was why you were going with a nickname. To protect yourself."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." And he felt like a fool.

"Ugh, typical Iride," Trix said. "No magical education."

"This has something to do with magic?" The matter was suddenly a lot more serious.

"Yes, it does. Using one's name gives you power over them, especially if magic is involved."

"What kind of power? And also, everyone knows my name. What does that make me?"

Trix shook his head. "It's not like that. You have to give your name willingly for it to give the user that power."

"And the power... Let's just say you would be much easier to influence and control."

A lot of things came to mind at the same time, the most important ones of all being that he'd never given Cecille his real name. Or Kat for that matter.

"Kat doesn't know my name," he whispered.

"What?" Trix asked in disbelief.

"I promised I'd tell her on our wedding night, and..." Even if they'd ended up sleeping together multiple times, she hadn't asked for it, content to scream out the name he gave her. The memory sent daggers into his gut, but he pushed past it.

"But that's wonderful," Jazz said, sounding thrilled. "It means that she has no power over you. You have the upper hand."

"How am I even supposed to use it?"

"You'll figure that out on your own when the time comes. Jinx and I..." Jazz lowered his face. "We used our real names to comfort each other, to drive home the sincerity of our words and our feelings."

"Allie is manipulative with it," Trix said. "She likes to twist feelings."

"Even yours?" Cage asked, a bit unnerved. He remembered the mermaid asking him for his name and pouting when he wouldn't reveal his real one.

"Sometimes, even mine. But merfolk are manipulative by nature, so I don't blame her. It's a defense mechanism for them."

Cage needed time to process all of this, and he knew he didn't have it. They had to catch up with the others and start preparing for war. It was good news that he hadn't given Kat power over him, even if he wasn't sure what that meant yet. And then, something else came to mind and he turned to Jazz.

"Wait. You just offered me your name." Once Jazz nodded, he asked, "Why?"

"You said nothing ties me to Iride, and that's true. But I'm tied to you. Loyal to you. And as much as I love Jinx, I won't abandon you now when you need me the most. Of course, the gesture would have been a lot more effective if you actually knew what it meant."

"You don't have to--"

"Cage, stop it! You know very well that I only do what I want to do."

"Yeah, right. Your curse says otherwise."

Jazz winced, but didn't back down. "Is this ideal? No. Do I wish that Jinx was with us right now? Definitely. Do I blame her for what happened? I'm not sure yet. The thing is, it happened and I'm not going back for her. I just hope she'll knock some sense into Kat's head while she's there."

Cage secretly hoped so too, but he still felt bad for Jazz. "I really appreciate this, you know."

"Yeah, I know. You're all big and tough, but you're a softie on the inside."

This made him smile. He didn't think anyone had called him soft before.

"Theon," Trix suddenly said.

Cage turned to him in surprise. "What?"

"If Jazz trusts you so much, then so do I."

"That's not how trust works, Trix," Jazz said with a laugh.

"Well, I still do," Trix said. "So there you have it. My name. Just don't use it. I hate it."

Cage blinked a few times, trying to wrap his mind around all this. Even if he'd had no idea about the power of names, knowing them did feel different. Like they were linked by much more than common goals.

"Kale," he said. "You can have it. And I don't hate my name that much. I'm just not used to going by it anymore." He expected Jazz and Trix to chastise him for giving up his name, but they looked grateful instead.

"This won't be easy," Jazz said. "For none of us. But we have to do what we have to do."

Cage nodded and they hurried to catch up to the others. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a little better. Whatever Kat had up her sleeve, at least he was not alone.

⚜⚜⚜

I know this one is short but this was the best cutout point for this chapter.

You get to find out some interesting tidbits about magic in this one and why I gave absolutely everyone a nickname 😅 I guess Cage created an advantage for himself without even knowing it.

We'll go back to check up on Kat and Jinx in the next one. Hope you're enjoying the story.