The Trouble with Magic — Sasha L. Miller

A trinity of stories about magic and all the trouble that arises when magic and emotion collide. The Dragon Slayer-Tane has been banished to a remote village and bound there by magic. With nowhere else to go and nothing better to do, he has taken the village under his care and protects it by killing the dragons that plague the area. Then he meets a dragon that refuses to die properly and brings with him a whole new set of problems. Striking A Balance-Nikkai is long used to suffering for and because of his brother's actions. Getting arrested for Tane's crimes, however, is a bit much. In prison, he unexpectedly encounters someone else acquainted with his brother-a foreign man of unusual magic who agrees to help him because of a debt owed to Tane. Alongside his new, intriguing companion, Nikkai breaks out of prison and sets off to speak with his brother. Family Business-At last free of his debt of honor, Ashei returns home with his new lover at his side, reluctant but braced to reunited with the family he has not seen for a long time-a family that is furious with him for turning away from their life of crime.