CROWNED BY BLOOD
They don't understand that breaking requires there to be something whole left to shatter, and wholeness is a luxury I surrendered long ago.
The dragons are worse, somehow. They speak plainly, leaving only brutal honesty in their wake. There's something almost refreshing about their directness after months of dealing with courtiers who spoke in riddles and rebels who hid their intentions behind pretty words. One of them, cloaked in obsidian scales that shimmer with their own inner light, leans forward with predatory grace and says, "We strike soon, before her grip closes entirely."