Chapter 231

• [Carnelia]
• When I first learned I was a dragon, I had no idea what that really meant. Dragons are creatures of energy and power, destined to rule our world by sheer might and fear. They were the terror on the mountain, the monster that could steal away your daughters and sons, forcing them into a life of servitude and pain.
• But then I was that monster, a creature born of fire and flame, and yet I was still myself, still that scared little girl who grew up among humans, abused and tortured for being different. I didn’t fit in anywhere. Even as a dragon, I’m unusual. As a universal dragon, I’m the stuff of legend, even among my own people. Universal dragons, I am learning, are exceptionally rare because they require the dragon to carry blood from all the original bloodlines, giving them an unbreakable connection to the first dragon of our world, Oaestr, mother of us all.