7

In the week following Flame's outburst, Cynder didn't see much of the siblings at all. She wasn't sure whether to feel relieved about this or not, but it made the days lonelier and it seemed to make the hours pass even slower. Her days were spent alone in her room, where she discovered a small source of entertainment in the way of sketching on spare scraps of parchment. She had never tried to sketch before, and the pictures she tried to form never quite looked like they had in her head, but at least while she was sketching she didn't feel quite as alone.

Perhaps it was because her mind was occupied, or perhaps somewhere inside her subconscious she felt like the sketches she drew were keeping her company, but whatever the reason, sketching helped her forget for at least a moment that Spyro wasn't there beside her. She tried sketching Spyro from memory, and even though it didn't really look like him, it made her feel a little less wistful. Charcoal and parchment were no replacement for physical company, however.

In the late afternoons, when Cynder was too tired to do much, she found herself gazing out the window at the city below. These times felt like the loneliest, and she berated herself for doing mostly nothing with her day. After the first few days, she realized she missed Ember and Flame. Even if he had said some stupid, hurtful things. Anything was better than this silence.

On the sixth evening of her self-imposed solitude, Cynder sat by her windowsill and wondered if Spyro was thinking of her. The celestial moons were bright and clear that night, glowing above Warfang like huge mismatched eyes. She wondered if he could see them too from the northern temple.

What would it be like when he finally returned? For the last two months, she had clung to the belief that everything would be back to normal when he came home, that they would fall back into their old routine like nothing had changed. But they were both young and growing, and Cynder couldn't help but wonder how Spyro could have changed during his time with the wind dragons. Maybe she wouldn't be enough for him any longer. He was the purple dragon, after all. The saviour of the realms.

What more was she than the reformed servant of Malefor? It felt like she hadn't changed at all in the year since the Dark Master's fall. She was still the same Cynder. Still as uncomfortable around other dragons as she had been since her days at the Dragon Temple. Still haunted by nightmares of what she had once been. Still unsure what the world expected of her and what to expect of herself.

Everyone in the city had a place to be. They had family, friends, love and ambitions. What did she have? She wasn't even sure any longer.

With a quiet sigh, Cynder rested her chin on the windowsill and gazed at the horizon. She wanted to be something. She wanted to change somehow, to be something more than a useless dragoness in the shadow of the Terror of the Skies. She wanted to surprise Spyro when he returned, to show him that she was worthy of his love. To feel worthy.

But the night was so cold and empty, and she didn't know what to do.


Cynder was awoken by an impatient rap-rap-rap at her door. Startled by the familiar knock that she hadn't heard in a few days, she jerked her head up and stared at the door, wondering if she'd dreamt it. A beat of silence passed and then it sounded again. Tingling with a strange mixture of nerves and excitement, Cynder clambered to her paws and stumbled over to open the door.

"Hey," Ember said the moment it slid open, a bored look on her face. She craned her head around Cynder as though to check that no one else was in the room. "Let me in."

Cynder stared. She looked around Ember, checking each side of the corridor, but there was no sign of Flame. Ember rolled her eyes and huffed.

"I snuck away from him at the marketplace," she said. "He's probably freaking out right now. Come on, let me in."

A little bemused by her blunt behaviour, Cynder stepped aside and allowed Ember into her room. The door slid shut after she stepped through and for a moment she stood there, casting her gaze around the place. Unsure what to say, Cynder stood awkwardly by the door and waited for Ember to say something. At length, the little pink dragoness glanced sideways at her.

"Cleaner than I expected," she said plainly.

Cynder didn't know what to say to that, but Ember didn't seem to require a response. She turned around and faced Cynder fully, her bright blue eyes oddly serious. "I'm sorry Flame's an idiot."

Cynder opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again when she realised she didn't know what to say. She frowned and shook her head. He wasn't that much of an idiot. He was just too quick to say what was on his mind. Too tactless and...

"I think he likes you," Ember continued, her voice and expression unchanging.

For a moment, Cynder wasn't sure she'd heard correctly.

"He just doesn't know how to show it, except by being jealous and stupid." Ember rolled her eyes again and shifted her stance so that she looked a little more relaxed. "He wasn't trying to make you feel bad. We're both a bit worried, but I don't think he's got the right idea. I mean, dragons don't just give up on love that easily. Right?"

"R...right," Cynder murmured, feeling a little windswept. Flame? That didn't make any sense. "Listen, Ember, thank you for apologising for him...but are you sure? I mean, Flame can't like me."

She shrugged. "Why not? You're awesome, you can stand up for yourself, you're beautiful, and you won the heart of the purple dragon himself. That's got to count for something. Sure, you're a few years older than him, but that's not going to stop a crush."

"But..." Cynder shook her head, trying to wrap her head around it. "What does courting Spyro have to do with this? Shouldn't that just...scare him off?"

"Didn't you know?" A smirk came to Ember's lips. "Being unavailable just makes you all the more desirable. It's a bit stupid, but it's true. Helps that Spyro isn't even here, y'know."

She heaved an exaggerated sigh and a wistful look came over her face. "When I still had a crush on Spyro, you have no idea how jealous I was when I heard the rumours that you two were courting. I wanted him sooo badly after that. Then I realised I was being kind of stupid, since I didn't really know him at all, anyway. And besides, I think you're a cute couple."

Cynder didn't respond, her face a little hot in the wake of Ember's confession. It kind of worried her to think that another dragoness had been pining after Spyro's affections back then. And yet he had chosen her. Then her thoughts abruptly sling-shotted back to Flame and she couldn't help but grimace. If that was true...

"What do I do?" she asked.

"About Flame?" Ember pulled an odd face that looked as though she was thinking about something unpleasant. "Nothing. Just keep going as you are. He'll get over it. When Spyro comes back, he'll realise how pointless his little crush is."

"But I don't want to hurt him," Cynder muttered, looking away. It still didn't make sense. She couldn't fathom why Flame would like her at all.

"Well, you don't want to give up on Spyro either, do you?"

She whipped her gaze back to Ember. "Of course not!"

Ember shrugged nonchalantly. "There's your answer. Flame's crush is doomed anyway. So just let it go."

Silence prevailed for a little while after that, and Cynder gazed towards the window, wishing more than ever that Spyro was back. This wasn't a revelation she had expected to hear, and somehow it made her both nervous and uncertain. Flame was supposed to be a friend, nothing more. She couldn't imagine ever thinking otherwise. When she thought of loving someone in that way, Spyro's face always came to mind. That wasn't going to change.

"So yeah..." Ember seemed to hesitate, glancing at Cynder sidelong and shuffling her paws. "About last week... I'm sorry we got a little overbearing."

It sounded like a grudging apology and yet Cynder knew from the look in Ember's eyes that it was genuine. She opened her mouth to thank her, but the words died on her tongue. Guilt flared in her chest out of nowhere. For the last few days, when she'd had nothing else to do, she had sat and wondered why things between her and her friends had gone sour so suddenly. The answer had come to her slowly, and she hadn't wanted to believe it, but as she gazed at Ember now, she couldn't deny it.

"I'm sorry too," Cynder said after a moment, averting her eyes. She rolled words around in her head, trying to figure out the right thing to say. Somehow, she couldn't help but feel reluctant in this apology. Maybe it was just guilt that was eating at her. "I shouldn't have treated you like that. I was just..."

She shook her head, unable to find the words to fully explain it. "I guess I let my emotions get the better of me. But...locking myself away wasn't the right thing to do."

A mixture of shame and reluctant guilt warring inside her, Cynder raised her head and glanced at Ember. The pink dragoness was staring at her with an unreadable expression, and for a moment she didn't say anything. Then she shrugged and relaxed her stance.

"Everyone has those moments. Maybe you're used to this—I mean, hiding away and dealing with it yourself. I can't imagine you had anyone to talk to back when you were, you know...big," she finished lamely, averting her eyes.

Cynder sighed. "I didn't. There are some habits I haven't lost from that time. Brooding is one of them."

"But you have friends now," Ember insisted, lifting her head again. Her eyes seemed to blaze with fierce conviction. "You can talk to us. We want to help you, you know."

Cynder stared at her for a long time, a kind of warmth rising in her chest. She hadn't meant to slip back into old habits and yet it had happened so quickly and easily that she'd almost forgotten what it meant to have friends. Spyro had first taught her that lesson, but it was Ember and Flame who were helping her to really understand what it meant. She didn't quite smile, but she nodded. "I know."

Ember smiled briefly. "I'm still going to knock your door down next time you try to brood, though."

"I suppose that's because you're my friend too?"

"Something like that."

Cynder shook her head slowly, a smirk tugging at her mouth. She had missed this. She couldn't figure out how she had been so foolish as to shut Ember out. Despite her occasional moodiness, somehow she always managed to make Cynder smile.

Ember fidgeted, glancing at the door. "Anyway, if all is good now, I better go find Flame before he starts a city-wide search. See you tomorrow, yeah? We should go to the baths again. It was fun last time."

"Yeah..." Cynder turned back to the door and opened it.

As Ember stepped through, she glanced at Cynder over her shoulder. "Next time you write to Spyro, tell him I said hi, 'kay? See you soon, Cynder."


Things seemed to improve after that. Cynder found herself spending more time with Ember and Flame again, just like she had when she'd first met them, and she hadn't realized how much she'd missed it. Things between her and Flame were a little awkward for a while, and Cynder suspected he knew that Ember had told her of his crush. But neither broached the subject directly, and it soon settled down until things were almost back to normal.

The days seemed brighter with Flame and Ember to keep her company, and going to sleep each night felt a little less lonely than before. She still dreamed of Spyro and at times would find herself just drifting off into thoughts of him—whether they be memories or daydreams—but the pain seemed somehow numbed by the company of her friends. His next letter arrived about a week after Ember's apology. He wrote of the many tasks Avgustin had him doing—some tedious, like accompanying the perimeter guards on their boring and uneventful rounds, and others nerve-wracking, like supervising a group of rowdy hatchlings for a day.

Out of everything he wrote in his letter, however, there was one paragraph that Cynder read over and over again until she had almost memorized it.

I'm surprised you never brought up the subject of my potential Guardianship sooner, but I guess it slipped my mind too. I know what you're thinking, and there's one thing I want you to know: you're everything to me and nothing could ever replace you. To be honest, when the Guardians first suggested it to me, I was ecstatic. To be able to follow in Ignitus's pawsteps... I thought I could want for nothing more. But I was wrong, Cynder. I've known for a long time nowthat all I want is you. And if I have to give up Guardianship to be with you, that's what I'll do.

Even after reading those words several times, they still caused warm explosions like fireworks to go off in her chest. She wanted to hold him and nuzzle him for a long time, just to let him know what he meant to her. Instead she hugged a cushion to her chest and tried not to grin too wide, repeating those words in her head and imagining him standing before her and speaking them.

You're everything to me.

All I want is you.

Her mind went into overdrive after that letter, and she found herself daydreaming so much that Ember started calling her absentminded. Her dreams, too, were affected. They became increasingly less innocent and she would wake in the night feeling hot and bothered and wishing he was there. She couldn't deny it any longer.

One morning, about a week or two after that letter, Cynder found herself with nothing to occupy herself with. Flame and Ember were tied up doing chores for their mother, and it had been a little while since she had last seen Volteer and Terrador. So, feeling both sheepish and nervous, Cynder headed down to the library to do something that had been on her mind for a while.

There was no need to ask the librarian for directions this time, and Cynder would have preferred to keep her escapades as much a secret as possible, regardless. She snuck through the aisles feeling as though there were eyes everywhere watching her. But none of the other browsers acknowledged her presence, and she soon found the little alcove where she and Spyro had officially decided to start courting some time ago.

It took her a short while to find the book she was looking, and for a moment she was afraid someone else had taken it, but then there it was—sandwiched between Memos of a Life-Mate and Courtships Gone Wrong. Gingerly, almost reverently, Cynder pulled the book from the shelf and gazed at the title. It had been some time, but here was the book that had, at least partly, started it all.

Courtship Practices – A Study of Dragon Relationships

Taking a deep breath, Cynder turned and settled down on a cushion in the same little alcove she had sat in months ago, and opened the book. Her paws trembled slightly as she flipped through it until she found the section she had been seeking. A section she'd never had a chance to look through before.

'From Courtship to Mates' said the bold heading at the top of the page.

Cynder licked her lips and glanced up, checking that no one was around. Assured she was indeed alone, she shifted her gaze back to the book and began to read. Feeling like she was somehow doing something wrong, Cynder had a little trouble focusing on the words written on the page, but she got the gist of the first few paragraphs and slowly relaxed as she continued on.

Apparently, the change from courtship to mates took place most commonly around the early adult years, when dragons had undergone their second—and often final—growth spurt, or during that growing period. It was not uncommon for it to happen later or even earlier, and usually depended on the courting couple and their situation.

Cynder was just reading about the mateship ritual—which, alongside the act of mating, often involved the drake presenting his dragoness with a gift, typically jewellery, gem or armour—when she so happened to glance down. At the bottom of the page were a series of simple sketches, and all of them depicted a pair of dragons in various compromising positions. Cynder stared for a moment, a sudden curiosity rising within her. She had never really thought that there might be more than one way to mate...

Paws shuffled at the end of the aisle and Cynder looked up with a stifled gasp, snapping the book shut. Her heart was pounding, but it was only another dragon looking at the books at the other end of the aisle and he didn't seem to have even noticed her presence. Nevertheless, her face burning, Cynder carefully slid the book back into its place and slipped past the dragon, no longer feeling secure enough to continue reading.

Once out of the library, she heaved a sigh and looked up at the sky. It was heavy and grey, threatening rain at any moment, and she decided it was best to return to the temple. Her whole body felt a little shaky and she couldn't shake the creeping feeling of guilt inside her. But there was a grin trying to creep its way onto her face, and she hurried through the largely empty streets feeling a little lightheaded.

From what Flame had said, she and Spyro would soon be beginning their final growth spurt, if Spyro wasn't already. Most dragons became mates during or after this period. It wasn't hard to draw conclusions, and her mind seemed all too eager do to just that. By the time she got to the temple, Cynder felt hot and tingly all over, and she was almost glad of the cool drizzle that had started falling during her walk.

She shut herself in her room and tried to occupy her mind with something else, but those thoughts stayed there, niggling at the back of her mind. She could only hope that Spyro would come home soon.


"Guess whaaat?" Ember crowed one morning when Cynder went down to meet her and Flame at the base of the temple steps. There was a twinkle to her eyes that suggested she was excited about something.

"What?" Cynder asked warily, coming to a stop on the lowest step.

Ember grinned wide enough that Cynder could see just about every pointed pearly tooth. "My hatchday is in just over a week, so you have to buy me a present!"

Cynder cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Flame. "A present?"

He shrugged. "It's a tradition. Guess you haven't celebrated many hatchdays, huh?"

Cynder wasn't even sure when her hatchday was, let alone what one did to celebrate it. Although she was reasonably sure that one such hatchday of hers had passed since the end of the war, neither she nor Spyro had thought to celebrate—or known when to celebrate. Even Spyro didn't know when his hatchday was. Perhaps this was because dragonflies had no such tradition.

"No," she said after a moment. "I've never celebrated a...hatchday. What do you do?"

Ember looked aghast. "Never? But that's just... I've had thirteen already and I remember celebrating at least nine of them! I mean, I was a bit young for the others..."

"I remember them," Flame muttered. "Vaguely."

"Thirteen?" Cynder echoed, frowning as she tried to add it up in her head. Did one celebrate every hatchday? Every year? That almost seemed excessive.

"I'll be fourteen next week," Ember said proudly, lifting her head.

"I see... So this will be your fourteenth hatchday. What sort of present am I to buy you?" Cynder asked. Maybe there was some sort of tradition, just like with courtship, and she was supposed to give Ember something specific. As long as it wasn't anything too expensive... Though, apart from buying parchment, she didn't have much other use for her gems.

Ember's smile widened mischievously. "Whatever I want!"

Flame heaved an exaggerated sigh. "And that means we're going shopping."

So it was that Cynder found herself accompanying Flame and Ember to the marketplace for the first time since she had met them there. She'd only been there once since to buy more parchment, and had otherwise avoided it. As she trailed after Ember, who darted from stall to stall like a hummingbird on the hunt for nectar, Cynder remembered why she didn't come here often. The din was nigh on unbearable, and she was jostled to and fro by impatient dragons and moles.

Ember seemed to have no trouble ducking and weaving around the milling crowd, and Cynder and Flame had trouble keeping her in sight. Eventually, they caught up to her at a jewellery stand where she was admiring a set of blue horn ribbons that almost matched her eyes.

"Do you think they'd look good on me?" she asked as Cynder stepped up beside her.

Cynder wasn't all that versed in the wearing of accessories, and she hesitated for a moment as she stared at the silky ribbons. They seemed so flimsy and unnecessary. "I suppose..."

Ember wrinkled her snout. "You're right, they're way too girly."

So saying, she turned on her heel and trotted away. Cynder passed the disgruntled mole behind the stall an apologetic glance and followed, aware of Flame grumbling at her heels. He'd hardly said a word since they'd entered the marketplace, and Cynder got the feeling that he didn't want to be there. As Ember ducked from one store to another, Cynder fell back until she was walking beside Flame.

"You seem unhappy," she observed as they sidestepped a distracted electric dragon who was too busy fishing in his gem pouch to notice where he was going.

"No kidding." Flame rolled his eyes. "She always gets like this when her hatchday's coming up. It's so frustrating."

Cynder glanced sidelong at him. "What about you?"

"As if I'd act like that. My hatchday's just another day to me."

Cynder eyed him curiously, considering his words and Ember's actions. Was it normal for dragons to treat their separate hatchdays so differently? Ember seemed excited, but Flame spoke as though it was hardly worth bothering with. "Do you still celebrate it?"

Flame looked surprised. "Of course. I mean, I still appreciate it, I just don't think it's something you need to get all excited about, you know? I was probably like Ember when I was younger. She'll grow out of it."

"I see." Unsure how to continue the conversation, Cynder lapsed into silence and tried to locate Ember through the bustling crowd. She spotted her at the front of another jewellery store and was just starting over there when Flame spoke again.

"Listen..." he said slowly, and the tone of his voice was enough to make Cynder stop and look over her shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

Flame fidgeted and didn't meet her eyes. "About what happened the other week... What I said... I'm sor—"

"Don't, Flame." Cynder shook her head and he shut his mouth mid-word. "It doesn't matter. We've already put it behind us. It's better we forget it."

"But..." Flame seemed to hesitate, a pained, almost longing look in his eyes. Then he let out a quiet sigh and dropped his gaze. "Guess you're right, then. Forget it."

A spark of guilt flared in Cynder's chest, and she hesitated a moment before turning away. It was obvious that the hurtful words he'd said to her weren't all that he wanted to talk about. But they'd avoided the other awkward subject so far, and she planned to keep it that way. It was better it be forgotten. There was nothing that could come of Flame's crush.

As they approached Ember, they found her gushing over a gold necklet on the jewellery stand. It was adorned with a pendant cut from a red gem in the shape of a heart and otherwise looked far too gaudy for Cynder's tastes. But Ember's eyes were shining like gems themselves and she was bartering excitedly with the mole behind the stall.

"Four yellow gems!" she exclaimed, leaning over the stall.

The mole shook his head. "Six or nothing, little dragon."

Ember puffed out her cheeks. "Four and three blue!"

The mole's face twisted a little, as though he was considering it, but shook his head. Cynder stepped up beside Ember. "What's going on?"

"Look at it!" Ember said instantly, gesturing to the gaudy necklet. "Isn't it gorgeous? It would fit me perfectly!"

She waved her vaguely heart-shaped tailspade in Cynder's face and turned to Flame, grinning. "You have to buy it for me!"

Flame grimaced and glanced at the necklet. "I don't have to do anything. How do you expect me to afford that?"

"But it's for my hatchday!' Ember protested, puffing her cheeks out again. She whirled on the mole behind the stall. "Five yellow gems, then!"

The mole sighed heavily and folded his arms. "Fine. But that's as low as I'll go."

Beaming, Ember whirled back to her brother, but Flame looked less than pleased. He glanced into his gem satchel, scowled, and looked up again. "I don't even have that much!"

Ember turned pleadingly to Cynder. "You can go halves! Come on!"

Cynder stared at the gaudy necklet and wondered how Ember could think it was any less girly than the horn ribbons, but she didn't say anything. Instead she glanced at Flame, asking without words what he thought. Flame held her gaze for a moment, looking torn. Then his eyes slipped back to his eager sister and he let out a sigh. "Fine. Do you have enough, Cynder?"

"I should..." She managed to fish out two yellow gems and was just wondering how to pay half a gem when Flame offered to pay the extra. Gratefully, she handed the gems over to him.

As Flame paid the mole and Ember fidgeted giddily, Cynder let her eyes wander. She swept her gaze over the bustling crowd of market-goers and did a double take when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A burly fire dragon seated behind a stall packed with meats was glaring their way, his jaw set with displeasure. It took a moment for Cynder to remember why he was familiar.

She nudged Flame. "Someone's glaring at us."

Flame looked up with the necklet now in his paw, following her gaze. "Huh? Oh, him. Yeah, he hasn't liked us much since that day you saved our hides. He hasn't tried to raise the prices again, though. I think he's afraid we'll call you in if he annoys us."

He sniggered and Cynder raised an eyebrow, glancing at him and then back to the grumpy stall-owner. Was she really that intimidating? She wasn't sure if that revelation sat well with her. It wasn't like she had purposefully tried to intimidate him. But, as much as she'd have liked to deny it, there were parts of her—both physical and abstract—that had carried over from her time as the Terror of the Skies.

Cynder's inner musings were interrupted by an excited squeal from Ember. "Can I have it now!?"

Flame held the necklet out of her reach and then stuffed it into his satchel. "It's not your hatchday yet. You have to wait."

Ember grumbled and pulled a face, and Cynder couldn't help but smile. Not long after, they decided to leave the busy marketplace, having achieved what they'd come there for. Cynder led the way back into the quiet streets while Ember tried to convince Flame to give her the necklet early. Her efforts went unrewarded. Smiling softly, Cynder wondered if she should try to buy something for Spyro's hatchday next time—if she could figure out when it was. Maybe the Guardians would know something.

But then she couldn't figure out what to buy him anyway. He didn't seem to have any particular interest in material items. In fact, the only things she could remember him buying had all been for her.

"So how long has it been now?" Ember piped up suddenly, as though she had known Cynder had been thinking about Spyro.

Cynder glanced back, surprised. "Ah... Almost three months, I suppose."

"Do you think he'll come back soon?" Ember asked. "I hope so."

Cynder couldn't help but note that Flame stayed very quiet, as though he was afraid of saying something wrong again. She wondered if he still disapproved of her insistence to wait regardless of how much it hurt her, but she didn't want to ask. It wasn't up to him, after all. She had promised her everything to Spyro, and that was not a promise she could break easily.

"I don't know," she said, looking ahead as the temple came into view. "But I hope so too."

As they approached the temple steps, Cynder found her thoughts wandering in a different direction. It was something she had thought about for a while and yet never thought of mentioning to her friends. Perhaps, in part, that was because it was somewhat embarrassing, or then she'd never thought that they could offer help. But a spark of inspiration hit her and she found herself saying, "I want to do something for Spyro when he comes back. To surprise him somehow."

Ember gave her a curious look as they stopped at the base of the steps. "Like, a present or something?"

"Maybe..." Cynder said slowly, frowning. "I was thinking something more...abstract."

She hummed thoughtfully to herself and looked up at the sky, wondering. A present seemed too simple; too unsatisfactory. She wanted to do something to amaze him, to show him that she done something worthwhile in the time he had been gone. After all, he was out there doing everything he could to reunite a lost subspecies with the rest of dragonkind. How could she possibly compete with that?

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more Cynder realised she wanted to improve herself—to show him that she was worthy of being courted by the purple dragon of legend. That would be her gift to him. Only, she wasn't sure how.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, smokebrain." Ember's sarcastic comment snapped Cynder out of her thoughts and she looked back at her friends to find them wielding unusual expressions. Flame looked uncomfortable and, somehow, the scales over his muzzle seemed redder than usual. Ember's expression was somewhere between exasperated and amused.

"What?" Cynder asked, bemused. Had she said something wrong?

"Flame's just infected with drake-brain," Ember said, rolling her eyes. "I think we can figure out what sort of 'gift' he's thinking about."

Still confused, Cynder stared from one sibling to the other until Flame stuttered a flustered response. "Sh-shut up! It was the way she said it! Something abstract? Yeah..."

He gave a nervous laugh and shot Cynder an almost frightened look. "Not that I'm trying to suggest that's what you meant or anything... Did you?"

Cynder was at a loss. Whatever they were talking about had them both embarrassed, and Ember's face turned fuchsia at Flame's question.

"We don't want to know!" she shrieked. "Gosh, Flame! Do you really think she'd tell us if that was what she meant? Do you have any concept of privacy?"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Flame held up a paw disarmingly, looking even more flustered than before. "I was just... Never mind. Just never mind. Let's stop before this gets any more awkward."

Cynder glanced from him to Ember and back again, her suspicions rising. From the way they were talking, there was at least one conclusion she could draw... But surely they weren't referring to that. They wouldn't. Would they? Her thoughts flew back to the book she'd read only a few days previously and suddenly her face felt hot.

Clearing her throat softly, she straightened her stance. "Moving that aside... Is there anything either of you can think of? I want him to see that I haven't been doing nothing while he's been gone."

Flame shrugged. "Maybe you could make something for him. Like, um..."

He trailed off, apparently with no idea what to suggest. Cynder considered it for a moment but ultimately decided she had no idea what to make, let alone the skills to do it. Her charcoal sketches weren't exactly attractive.

"Maybe you should think about why you're doing this," Ember said, suddenly serious. "Are you trying to impress him or make him happy? They're not quite the same."

Cynder hesitated. "I just...want him to see that I'm able to stand beside him. To be good enough for him..."

"You're insecure."

Cynder flinched, but she couldn't deny Ember's quiet accusation. She looked away. "It's not that simple..."

"Maybe, but that's the root of it," Ember said. Her eyes softened. "I think the best thing you can do is stop worrying. Spyro loves you, right? You don't need to impress him to make him love you more. I reckon you already did that a long time ago when you helped him take down the Dark Master. Jeez. If I had done that, I'd have drakes falling all over me."

She heaved a wistful sigh and her eyes glazed over. Cynder almost couldn't contain her grin, but worry still twisted her gut. "But he's the purple dragon. He's...well."

"The saviour of the world?" Flame offered dryly.

Cynder sighed. "Exactly. What makes me worthy of being beside him?"

"There's this little thing called love," Ember said, her voice coloured with sarcasm, "you might not have heard of it. It makes dragons do crazy things like forget their own assets and achievements in favour of adoring someone else. It's a bit weird."

Cynder gave her an odd look, to which Ember just rolled her eyes again. "Look, all I'm saying is that Spyro doesn't care about any of that! Why would he? I might not have met him in person, but everything I've seen and heard pretty much confirms that he's not some kind of arrogant jerkface who only cares about his own awesomeness. Jeez, if he was, you wouldn't be in love with him, would you?"

"I...I guess not..." Cynder took a step back, a little put out. She hadn't expected this conversation to head in such a direction, and the revelations were making her head spin.

"Just relax," Ember said, smiling. "If he fell in love with you before, he's going to do it all over again when he comes back—no matter what you do. And just for the record... If there was anyone worthy of courting the 'saviour of the world', I'm pretty sure it would be the one who, you know, helped him do it?"

For once, Cynder didn't have a response to that. She looked at Flame, who just shrugged helplessly, and realised abruptly that he probably wasn't enjoying this conversation. Feeling a little guilty, she half turned towards the temple.

"Thanks, I guess," she mumbled to Ember. "See you again soon?"

The siblings nodded and Ember sidled up to her just as she started climbing the steps. "One more thing..."

Cynder glanced back at her. "What is it?"

Shooting a quick glance back at Flame, Ember leaned in close and whispered, "If you're still thinking about a gift for him, maybe Flame's first idea wasn't so bad..."

It took Cynder a moment to understand, until Ember winked and wiggled her hindquarters with a sly grin. The blood immediately rushed to her face and she found herself mouthing wordlessly in response. Smirking unabashedly, Ember turned away and walked back to her brother. "Bye, Cynder!"

Cynder just stared after her, feeling a little windswept. Maybe Ember wasn't as innocent as she had first thought.