The drakes were not as used to the sound of gunfire as Temeraire was; most of his own crew had brought swords and bows rather than risk gunpowder around the firebreathers. The shot went wide, but the sound alone was enough to startle the lead drake away from the dragon's side and fragment the formation.

His head whipped around like a snake, and the massive jaws snapped shut on the lead drake's neck and forequarters. No time for boarding this go around; Temeraire shook the drake back and forth like a dog worrying a rat until bones crunched and the neck snapped. The dragon released the spasming creature to fall to earth, like a bloodied leaf.

The beasts on the tail of the now fragmented formation had changed targets from Temeraire to Katina, two of them, both behind and slightly above Katina's drake.