The Dragon's Prisoner

By Holly Day

Stealing from a dragon is bad, getting caught is worse.


Kasper Cobalt is a thief who wants to quit, but his boss forces him to do one last job. He has, of course, heard of dragons, but he isn't sure he believes in them until he's standing in front of a guy who breathes smoke and has weird eyes.


Saxon the Sinful is bored out of his mind. Running a jewelry store on Dragon Row should be pleasing. He is, after all, surrounded by gold and gemstones. But he's also surrounded by humans, and one of them has the audacity to try to steal from him.


After having caught Kasper, Saxon locks him up in his basement. He should kill him, and he might, but first he'll feed him. He looks hungry. Kasper can't hang around and play dragon's prisoner even though Saxon takes great care of him. His boss will kill him if he doesn't finish the job. Kasper is reluctant to betray Saxon, but a thief and a dragon can never have a happily ever after, can they?


NOTE: The Dragon's Prisoner takes place on the same street as The Book Dragon's Lair and Mated to the Fire Dragon but can be read as a standalone story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jan 13, 2024
• ISBN: 9781685506520

Holly Day

Holly Day and Sherman Wick are the authors of several books about the Twin Cities. Sherman Wick received his BA in history from the University of Minnesota and has been a member of the Minnesota Historical Society for several decades. Holly Day has worked as a freelance writer for local and national publications for over twenty-five years and teaches writing classes at the Loft Literary Center.

Book preview

The Dragon's Prisoner

By Holly Day

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2024 Holly Day

ISBN 9781685506520

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author's imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Gabi Cervenka and Leonie Duncan, thank you!

I wrote The Dragon's Prisoner to celebrate Appreciate a Dragon Day, which is observed annually on January 16th. All you have to do to take part in the celebrations of this day is to appreciate stories and myths about dragons. Did you know that the first time the word dragon entered the English language was in the early 13th century, but descriptions of them have been found as far back as 4500 BC? They're old beasts!

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The Dragon's Prisoner

By Holly Day

Chapter 1

Saxon the Sinful snarled as the bell chimed over the entrance of The Dragon's Treasure, his jewelry store. It was a stupid name, but he'd been advised to put the word Dragon somewhere on the sign, and being creative wasn't his strong suit.

It was two minutes before closing time, and if humans had possessed any sense, they wouldn't come to his store two minutes before closing time.

Reverend Goodwin stepped over the threshold and pulled the door closed behind himself with some force--it would've closed on its own if he'd only waited a moment.

They walk around as if it's normal. The distaste dripping from his words had Saxon get up from his seat behind the counter and walk over to the window. He looked out over Dragon Row, expecting to see something interesting, but all he saw was Ryu the Ravenous and his mate, Egil, walking down the stairs of The Book Dragon's Lair and heading in the direction of the market. He needed to do some shopping too, but feared he wouldn't make it there in time today. The market people packed up for the day about now, too.

He swept his gaze over the cobblestoned lane in hopes of having missed something interesting, but nope, only Ryu and Egil. A dragon stretched its wings above the tower-like houses before the angular shape more or less disappeared into the darkening sky. Saxon was almost sure it was blue, which meant it most likely was Mort the Monstrous. He growled low. He had to have closed early today if he was already flying. Saxon wanted to fly too, but he preferred not to do it in the dark, which meant he didn't get to stretch his wings often this time of year. January sucked. November through March, or at least February, always sucked in this fucking realm.

He was sick of Dragon Row. He was sick of having to work every day like a lowly human. Most of all, he was sick of all the idiots living in this pathetic excuse of a settlement. Had he been able to, he'd return to the dragon realm in a heartbeat.

The rest of you have to make it clear it's not acceptable.

Saxon blinked and tried to focus on the conversation. Were they having a conversation or was the human leader talking to himself?

What isn't acceptable?

Having sodomites walking down the street as if they aren't an abomination.

Abomination? Saxon looked out of the window again. Last he'd heard, Albus the Abomination had moved to the ocean. Maybe Saxon should go to the ocean too. He'd never seen it, and he believed there was more than one ocean, so he wouldn't have to be near Albus and his annoying mate.

The reverend turned and looked him straight in the eye. At least you're not one of them.

Saxon was confused and kept his face blank. I'm still here. I didn't go with Albus the Abomination.

Goodwin stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. No, you helped to get rid of him. I appreciate that. We don't need more of those people around here. It confuses the members of my congregation.

Saxon hadn't done anything. Or he might have told everyone Albus was a white dragon, but they'd have figured it out, anyway. The reverend hadn't understood color mattered until Ryu the Ravenous, who was a black dragon--albeit scarred and ugly and without status--had moved here. Saxon had told him about the dragons on the Sapphire Mountains being black when he'd asked for an explanation. He'd also told him how white dragons had no status at all and should be killed as soon as they'd made it out of the egg, but how one had survived and was living among them right here on Dragon Row.

Mort the Monstrous had already told Goodwin not to give Albus a mate, so Saxon didn't feel bad about it. He didn't like how Ryu and Nithe the Nefarious, Saxon's neighbor, had stuck up for Albus, though. There were too few dragons in this realm not to stick together. Excluding a white dragon was common sense, but Ryu and Nithe hadn't agreed.

Saxon should try to make better friends with them, but he didn't have the energy.

I meant, at least you don't keep a male companion. Do you want me to find you a mate? I know you didn't find anyone you liked among those I presented you with when you arrived, but it's been more than a decade. You have to be getting lonely, and we have some girls who have grown into fine young women who might catch your fancy. Good, godly women. We could use a dragon in church, someone who can show the residents of Dragon Row the right way.

Saxon didn't want to spend more time than he needed with humans. He never would've lived in the human realm if he'd had a choice. He'd planned on sharing his flame with Vida the Vicious. She was a dark blue dragon, a second cousin to Albus the Abomination. He hadn't cared when he'd learned her bloodline was tainted by a white dragon--he hadn't been pleased, but he wouldn't punish Vida for Albus' parents being too weak to do what they should've done when they realized what came out of the egg.

To say her tainted genetics hadn't caused some worry would be to lie, but he figured if they had a white hatchling, they could drown it and try again. It would be a disappointment, but they could've gotten past it. Females were few and far between, more than two-thirds of all young hatched were male, and Vida had chosen him. Her bloodline might not have been as clean as she'd first let on, but he'd been considered one of the lucky ones, despite the contamination.

He snorted, which had the reverend widen his eyes. Smoke wafted around them, and Saxon took a calming breath. She hadn't chosen him. He'd walked into her cave one day and had found her with Dren the Devious. Both naked, both in their human form, writhing on the mattress. The sounds of their lovemaking would forever be etched into his mind, as would the screams that followed.

Anger, hot like molten lava, had erupted in him, and he'd burned them both. Had changed into a dragon right there and unleashed his fire. He didn't care about having disfigured Dren, but he'd scarred Vida beyond recognition.

The council had given him a choice, and it had cost him his entire fortune and part of his mother's too to pay his debt. Then he had to go through the veil and never set foot in the dragon realm again or he would die. He'd ruined Vida the Vicious prospects, and her family wanted his head. He understood. He'd allowed his anger to rule, but the trollop deserved it. She'd cost him his treasure and his dignity.

He could build a new treasure, but his dignity? He'd been fooled, and everyone knew it.

Or Mort the Monstrous did, at least. No one else on Dragon Row had ever mentioned it. It didn't mean they didn't know, of course.

What do you say?

About? Saxon stared at Goodwin. What was he talking about?

About mating a woman and coming to church.

I've had enough of females for a lifetime.

Goodwin stared at him. A young vibrant woman to warm your bed, you don't want that?

He might, but if he took someone to bed, it wouldn't be one of the reverend's people. He had little patience for stupidity, and anyone following Goodwin lacked intelligence.

I'll send a few over for you to have a look at.

Saxon ignored him. Did you want to buy something? It was past closing time.

Goodwin shook his head.

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Kasper Cobalt leaned against the stone wall of one of the buildings along the cobblestoned road. Hunger was gnawing in his gut, and he was a little faint. He had to find a place to hole up for a day--rest, find something to eat, and preferably get clean.

This road looked creepy in the dark. The houses were towering, and they were all narrow but tall, almost as if they were leaning over the street. Maybe he was hungrier than he'd realized if his vision was playing tricks on him.

He was no stranger to hunger. Having grown up on the streets, the sharp clawing in his gut had been a trusted companion. But then he'd met Loretta. She'd ruled the alleys in Sudport. As ruthless as she was fickle. She'd called more people than Kasper knew friends, only to stab them in the back a few months later. Granted, he didn't make friends easily, but he'd considered Loretta one. He'd never trusted her fully, no one could, but she'd taken him under her wing when he'd been a teen and had given him enough jobs to keep him out of the brothels. For that, he was grateful.

She'd shown him how to pick locks, and he had an aptitude for melting into the shadows and moving through crowds unseen. A survival skill he'd learned as a kid, and it had served