Chapter 44
The sheer pain in the painting had Ryuu’s thread of control snapping in that moment, having him suck in a breath at the pain that slaughtered his body as the shift tried to roll through him. He stumbled to his feet, holding his head in his hands and choking on a hoarse cry as his skin burned, rippling with light blue opalescent scales, and he staggered out of the closest exit to him. His bones ached as a freezing burn filled them, and he gritted sharpened teeth as his head pounded. Looking around blearily, noting he was in the courtyard, he let himself go.
A roar signaled the release of his dragon as Ryuu was swallowed into it, losing against the urge to let the beast out. His clothes shredded to miniscule pieces, drifting in the wind as his now dragon-form collapsed back to the earth. He breathed out heavily, turning a portion of the grass near his mouth into ice.