Page 91 of Dragon Awakened

"The Gods reject you," the voice says through my mouth. "Your corrupted kingdom will fall."

I bellow black flames on Fury and Jasmine, and the catharsis is me being born yet again, entirely anew.

I'm no reject. I'm not defective.

My dragon is risen of earth, air, fire, water and all-consuming shadow. Together with my mates, I bring light to the places that have dwelled too long in darkness.

Magic burns in my veins as Fury and Jasmine's scales melt away. They tumble to the ground, human and broken, and a slithering voice in my chest tells me to finish the job. My dragon could sear them to a crisp and feast on their bones.

But no--

No.

My beast has been awakened, my destiny made clear.

But I am still myself.

There's an ear-splitting crack, and I falter as a scale on my left arm shatters. Wrongness floods me, and darkness recedes from my wings, leaving them silvery pale and gray.

What--

The attackers are gone. Fury and Jasmine are defeated, crumpled--if still breathing--wrecks on the ground. The sky is bright and silent.

The magic that had been holding me aloft shivers and then fails.

I fall.

Twisting and turning, my mates screaming for me as they follow me down to the broken earth.

Where I land. Human.

My dragon roars with pain inside me, and I hold up my arm. My wrist is black and purple, and crackling with the memory of dragonscale.

But it's bare.

My gaze drops to the ground.

Where I find the Shadow Queen's Bracer, cracked in half.

Dull.

Lifeless.

Shattered.