There Be Dragon

He hears voices in his head, and they want the girl. One to love, one to protect, and one is just laughing at his scruples and calls him 'boy.'

Kwe was a soldier, scarred by a war that even memory-blockers cannot suppress, on an Earth where he was either an angel or a monster or both. A summons he never wished for drops him into Kalador, a world of deadly magic and hungry demigods, where a prophet secretly plays with fates from the bottom of the sea. Then the voices in his head start. Then the voices in his head start. It's the Dragon's spirit, his priests say, except it isn't just one voice. It's several, each with its own wants, all eager to take control if only Kwe lets them. All he needs to do is listen and save the country. Kwe was saving all his life, but listening could be dangerous and he never fought actual demigods.

Common-born Kira never expected to become the Chosen, the one destined to bind the soul of the new Lord Dragon's to Kalador. Trap him, like the Chosen did over the ages, ever since the first Lord Dragon descended to Kalador. She never expected to fall in love. To be with this man might be her duty, with no choice given, but now, she can't imagine choosing anyone else. If only he'd believe that.

Kwe shouldn't have fallen for the girl, but it happened, and now he couldn't even ask. Because he loves her. Because nobody asked her whether she wants it or not. Because the Scripture leaves her with no way to refuse, and a "yes" he can't trust is the one he can't take. Because when his mem-blocks fail and memories leak, he wakes up screaming, daggers in shaking hands slashing the ghosts that only he can see. Because she deserves better. He knows all that. He knows that whatever his feelings, he should let her go. The dragons inside him disagree, and some of them never learned restraint.

To survive assassination attempts, court intrigue, marriage proposals, and the looming war on three fronts, he needs the Dragon, but its power is not free. Embracing the voices inside could cost him everything, starting with Kira. Still, he wouldn't be anyone's pawn, not the court's, not the demigods', not even his own dragons'.

An adult isekai fantasy romance with teeth and a bite. For readers who love portal fantasy, dragon-bond stories, slow-burn and forbidden romance, sharp court politics with a touch of mystery, and a mighty hero who's funny even when the stakes are life or death.