Guardian of the Mist Dragon

By Jaymi Hanako

To save her family, Lin will defy convention—and her father—to take on the most extraordinary journey into a strange land...

Stealing her father’s armor was the easy part. Now alone and confronted by mercenaries, Lin must defend a rare mist dragon’s egg. Just as she is badly wounded, a strange dragon drops out of the sky, breathing fire and scattering her enemies. Then the creature’s massive talons wrap around her body, and he carries her away...

Her beauty sets his body on fire. Her stubbornness threatens to drive him mad...
Dirkan abducted the injured human female for her own protection. Safely tucked away at his home, her spirit and beauty tempt him to claim her as his mate. But he has no future to offer her. He has obligations to his family that don’t include being with a human.

Their bond is undeniable, and the heat threatens to burn out of control. But when the time comes to return to her land, will Lin be leaving her heart behind?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaymi Hanako
• Release date: Mar 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463539019

Jaymi Hanako

Jaymi Hanako writes stories of love and lust in alternate worlds. Her favorite subjects include spaceships, magic, and paranormal creatures.Born and raised in Hawaii, she left paradise when she fell in love with a soldier. After being assigned to different bases throughout the southern United States, they settled in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where they currently live with their dog and two cats.

Book preview

Prologue

The sweet, smoky odor of incense filled the air. Lin bowed before the altar to the ancestors, then ran her finger along the inscription on the wooden tablet with the freshest carvings. The one dedicated to her mother. I wish you were still here with us. It had been almost two years, but the pain remained fresh. I do not know what I am doing.

Ever since her mother’s death, it was her duty as the eldest daughter to run the household and take care of the family.

Something that had grown increasingly difficult because of Father’s deteriorating health. Lin wondered, sometimes, if he hoped to join his wife in the afterworld. They had been especially close.

She bit back a sob, mashing a few errant tears into her cheeks. She did not have time to cry. Or grieve. To indulge in her feelings at a time like this would be a weakness, and her family needed her to be strong. In every way.

With a heavy sigh, she blew out the candle she used to light the incense. As she rose to her feet, the thunder of many horses’ hooves outside her family’s walled home caught her attention.

Lamps flared inside the house. The noise must have woken Father. Not surprising. He claimed that the wars of his youth left him a light sleeper. In his condition, he needed as much rest as possible.

The horses galloped into their courtyard. Lin stepped forward, tightening her robe around her. With her hair messy and falling down around her shoulders, she hardly made a proper appearance. Her attire was better suited for bed than for any sort of company, but it could not be helped. It was still her responsibility to greet their guests.

The servants lit more lamps around the courtyard and the flickering light reflected off the riders’ swords. Dressed in armor.

Soldiers.

The leader leaped off his horse almost before it halted, his face sweaty and agitated. He appeared younger than she was.

He sketched out a hasty bow in her direction. Please forgive the interruption, but I have an urgent message for the Honorable Guan Tao. From the Emperor.

Let me see it. Father’s voice shook. He moved slowly with his chin raised, and he had forgone the use of his walking staff in front of these strangers. For the sake of his pride.

Which meant that any offer of aid would not be welcome.

She sighed. That pride was almost all he had left to comfort him now. He had been an outstanding soldier, a revered general in the Imperial Army. Earned many prizes and honors in battle. A series of misfortunes took not just the wife he adored, but also reduced the family’s fortunes until they could barely keep up the appearance of their station in life.

The young soldier, with eagle feathers in his helmet showing his rank of captain, dropped to his knees and held out a sealed scroll in both hands. His men also fell to their knees behind him.

Father staggered forward and though his robes covered his legs, Lin suspected he needed to lock his knees to avoid falling. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. He opened the scroll, read, then snapped it shut. My horse and armor, he said to the nearest servant. Quickly.

The soldiers rose and remounted their horses, riding out of the courtyard as suddenly as they arrived.

With the strangers gone, Lin stepped forward and offered her arm to her father. She braced herself as his weight settled on her and guided him toward the stairs.

Another servant rushed forward and tried to hand Father his cane.

He stared at it but refused to touch the polished wood. Useless piece.

Father? What’s going on? What did the Emperor say?

He did not look at her. His face turned white. Rivulets of perspiration rolled down the side of his face. The Great Dragon was murdered.

Murdered? How she had the breath to speak at all, she didn’t know. The Great Dragon was the Emperor’s closest companion. His protector. A member of the race of benevolent creatures who brought the spring mists and rains. The very fertility of the empire’s lands depended upon their power, which led many people to worship them as gods.

The Emperor was said to be one of their descendants. A mix of human and something more. Who would dare do such a thing?

I do not know.

And the Emperor?

Fortunately, the dragon left behind offspring, so he shall have a companion again soon. The single egg must be retrieved and guarded until it hatches. His Majesty thinks it would be best for it to be taken out of our lands for a time, as there are many who would wish to destroy it while it is at its most vulnerable. Its current location is too well-known.

Now her heart threatened to leap from her chest. Her legs buckled, but she had pride of her own and refused to show it. Is... is His Majesty asking you to be the dragon’s guardian?

Yes. Who else would he trust at a time like this? Her father wheezed and coughed. And I will make the trip alone, in order to draw as little attention to the egg's location as possible.

It sounded like a rather desperate and not well thought-out plan. Trust or not, you are in no condition to be traveling at all, much less⁠—

Lin! Would you have me defy our emperor?

She bit her lip. The only way Father could honorably avoid taking on the task was if he had a son to send in his place. But Han had not yet seen four winters.

Perhaps... I could go.

They would kill you. No woman is allowed to bear the weapons of a soldier.

Then why did you train me, Father? I can fight as well as any man. You’ve said so yourself!

I taught you and your sisters those things so you could defend our home and your mother while I was at war. This is something else entirely.

I don’t see the difference. It was still a way to protect her family.

Father sighed and the pain in his expression made her bite her tongue. For now. No, Lin. I need you to take care of things here. Do you understand?

Yes, Father. She excused herself before her composure broke.

This ‘request’ from the Emperor would be a death sentence for him, with his current health. And losing Father would be a disaster.

There would be no one to provide for them. No one to protect them. Every failing of their family exposed to the world. Despite their struggle to keep up respectable appearances, she doubted they had actually fooled anyone.

It would explain why she and her sister Jian never received any legitimate offers of marriage, even though they were both of age.

Lin’s lips twisted into a grimace. Of course, she held some responsibility for the lack of offers. For herself. at least. She had liked none of the men who showed interest in her, and so had deliberately flaunted her more ‘unfeminine’ characteristics.

Perhaps she should regret those actions now, but she did not. She made peace with her personal fate a long time ago. Assumed she would remain in her family home forever, running the household until her brother came of age and married.

Then she would be able to retire from the position to turn her attention to helping raise her nieces and nephews.

It would not be the sort of life her parents wanted for her, but in the end, she knew they ultimately wanted her to be happy.

And she had seen no man with whom she could be happy.

But if Father died...

Han would be taken in by a soldier’s family, probably by one of the men who had served under Father. He still kept in touch with many of them and considered them friends. Though not relations, they would ensure that the only son of Guan Tao grew into a soldier too.

She and her sisters were a different matter.

With no family, and their standing in society gone, they would have to become servants. Or worse.

Lin shuddered, recalling some vicious gossip she overheard the other day. Focused upon her two youngest sisters in particular. The twins had only seen fourteen winters but were quite womanly and the loveliest among them all. Some bitter old women in the village had speculated on how much Father might sell them for.

To the brothel.

No.

She wouldn’t let that happen.

Lin had promised to care for them all when Mother died. Of course, this probably wouldn’t be the way Mother would suggest that she do it, but she had no other choice.

Something needed to be done.

The servants coaxed Father into taking a meal. He sounded very weak, yet argued that he could not spare the time for food. Not when the Emperor’s safety was at stake.

He was right, in a way.

Though His Excellency had soldiers to protect him, he always relied more on the presence of the Great Dragon to shield him from any plots or conspiracies against him. No one dared oppose the ruler as long as the magical beast remained at his side.

But without it?

If the dragon’s murder became common knowledge, the country might descend into chaos. Or worse, open rebellion. The only thing that might keep disaster at bay was the knowledge that the dragon’s heir was safe and would soon return.

Lin slipped into her father’s room and retrieved the Emperor’s scroll. Scanned it quickly to ensure she understood the details of the mission. The characters written by a shaky hand, messy and smudged in places. It had likely come from the brush of the Emperor himself rather than a scribe, since it contained certain details that would have been too personal for a servant to be informed of.

Had the loss of the dragon that weakened the Emperor?

No way to know. Though Father was considered a trustworthy soldier and subject, their financial troubles had banished their family from regular interaction with the imperial court. Gossip rarely reached so far into the countryside.

The servants—eunuchs, mostly—who made up the Emperor’s inner circle would ensure the secrecy of that. With or without direct orders from their master.

The egg rested at the Northern Monastery of the Mists, one of the most remote religious sanctuaries in the country. The scroll would serve as confirmation that the bearer was trusted by the Emperor. She doubted the monks would turn over a rare dragon egg to anyone without that sort of assurance.

In the other part of the house, everything proceeded as normal. Jian joined the servants in coaxing Father to take more than a few sips of his medicinal tea, but to also have some food as well before setting out.

Good.

That would buy her a little time.

Lin slipped into the arms room. The servants kept Father’s old army gear maintained in fighting condition and it had been laid out in preparation for his departure.

She quickly stripped down to her short under-robe. Pulled on the leather padding, followed by the lacquered breastplate. Made of many tiny scales to protect the wearer from crossbow fire, it still allowed the maneuverability needed to fight with a sword. Lin reached for the blade in question next. Tested the edge.

It had been sharpened recently, of course.

She gripped it easily, its weight a familiar thing. Almost like an old friend. She spun and stabbed at the air, the old movements coming back to her like an instinct that was never forgotten.

She set it aside and reached for one of the smaller daggers. With her free hand, she undid the complex knot that held her hair against the top of her head. She could not keep that particular style when traveling as a man. But left loose, it reached her waist and would only get in the way unless she did something.

Lin gathered the strands together in her fingers, then sliced through them at a level