Taylor Swift Believes Blake Lively Manipulated Her in Justin Baldoni War

Taylor Swift feels she was used by Blake Lively in her war with Justin Baldoni, and she resents Blake calling her one of her "dragons" and leveraging her name.

As we reported, there was a critical meeting at Blake and Ryan Reynolds' NYC penthouse with Justin to discuss a scene that Blake had rewritten for "It Ends with Us." Justin has said the meeting got super heated, and he felt ambushed because Ryan and Taylor showed up.

But a well-connected source close to Taylor tells TMZ ... Taylor came to Blake's apartment at the time Blake told her to, not knowing anyone else would be there. In other words, Taylor had no idea there was a meeting going on with Justin.

The source goes on to say ... Justin was about to leave after the 2-hour meeting as Taylor walked in, and she was introduced to him for the first and only time. We're told all Taylor said to Justin was how excited she was to see the movie because he was her friend's boss.

Our source says Taylor believes Blake timed her meeting with Justin so Taylor would arrive before he left and is baffled by Blake later characterizing her as her "dragon." The source adds, "It's weird to say that about a friend."

As Daily Mail reported, friends of Taylor's called the dragon remark, "Uncool and unnecessary."

Remember, Blake texted Justin after the meeting ... referring to herself as Khaleesi from "Game of Thrones," and Taylor and Ryan as her protective "dragons."

And there's more ... the source says Taylor is also learning Blake has been inappropriately leveraging her name for a long time, like telling a young actress that Taylor "cast her," which simply did not happen.

TMZ dropped a new podcast Wednesday, "Two Angry Men," in which Harvey asked Justin's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, about subpoenaing Taylor for a deposition. Go to 25:37 on the podcast player to hear that exchange -- it's easy to read between the lines -- but it's clear Taylor feels used.

This is a huge falling out ... Taylor is godmother to one of Blake and Ryan's kids.

But, one source close to Blake has a different take, telling TMZ ... Blake believes the relationship is "not strained" with the two still talking regularly.

Another source close to the situation says Taylor was pissed about the extent to which she was involved, and specifically she was angry about the "dragons" remark … but Blake has since apologized, they had a good cry and hugged it out.