Spyro opened his eyes. His room was dark and cold as it had been for the past weeks. His nights had been plagued with nightmares and torturous visits from the possessed dragon Malefor resided within. The Dark Master would taunt the purple dragon and torment him in any way his twisted mind could think of. Every morning Cynder would find more and more wounds covering his body. Whenever she inquired about it Spyro would just day it was nothing and run away from her. It was getting to the point where Cynder was beginning to worry about him so much she was having the guardians spy on Spyro when he was unaware of their presence. Spyro eventually caught on and did his best to assure them that he was all right.
Then one night, while Spyro lay awake, the Dark Master didn't show up. Spyro was curious as to why the evil dragon hadn't shown himself but he wasn't going to complain. The purple dragon poked his head out of his room and looked around. The halls were quiet, only lit by the lanterns left burning by the guards. Spyro paused for a long moment before darting down the hall. He slowly slipped up to Cynder's room.
"Cynder!" He shouted anxiously. "It's Malefor! He's back! I'm sorry I worried you but I was afraid he would..." The dragoness remained motionless throughout his explanation. "Cynder?" He walked over to her and nearly threw up. His black dragoness lay on the floor, with her throat split wide open, staining the floor with blood. Spyro stood in a state of shock. A laugh echoed throughout the room.
"I warned you not to tell her." The Dark Mater was taking extreme pleasure in watching the young dragon suffer. Spyro shut his eyes tight as tears began to roll down his cheeks.
"Spyro." The purple dragon lifted his head and his heart nearly stopped. Cynder stood before him, with her neck still spliced open and her head slumped to one side. Her eyes were white and she just stared out at him blankly. "Why did you let me die?"
"Cynder! I tried to warn you!" Spyro protested.
"You let me die." Cynder repeated sadly.
"No! Cynder! You have to believe me! I was only trying to protect you!"
"Well you did a great job of that Spyro. You let me die." The dragoness took a step towards him. "I thought you were my friend Spyro. How could you let me die?"
"Cynder I tried to prevent it! Really I did!"
"You let me die!" Cynder's white eyes glared at him. The blood that was on the floor began to move towards Spyro. The purple dragon backed away as the fluid stalked towards him.
"Cynder, I'm sorry!" Spyro found himself backed into a wall with nowhere to go. "I didn't mean for this to happen!"
"It's too late Spyro." Cynder sighed sadly. "It's too late for me and you." The pool of blood formed tentacles that reached out and grabbed Spyro around his front legs and throat.
"Cynder!" Spyro sobbed, knowing full well what was coming. "I love you!"
"Spare me he act Spyro." The dragoness reared back on her hind legs and hissed loudly. Her wound sealed and Cynder began to grow larger. Spyro felt the energy within him drain out as his dragoness mutated into her adult form.
"Cynder." Spyro shook his head, not wanting to believe what he saw.
"Spyro." Cynder' voice suddenly fell of into the distance. The black dragoness roared and raised her long talons over her head.
"Cynder!" Spyro cried.
"Spyro!" Cynder called and tore the young dragon apart.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!" Spyro shouted and jolted upright on his cushions knocking Cynder head over heals off of the pile. He sat there gasping hard, nearing the point of hyperventilation.
"Spyro!" Cynder cried as she rolled up off the floor and onto her feet. Spyro's head whipped around and he tackled her to the floor. He kissed her with tears streaming from his eyes.
Cynder was caught off guard and was left speechless as he kissed her repeatedly, crying softly and soaking her with his tears. At last Spyro stopped kissing her and looked down at her. "Spyro, what's wrong?" Cynder asked, she was beginning to grow scared herself. She had never seen him this upset before.
"You're alive!" Spyro smiled, grateful that his dream was not a reality. He buried his head in her chest and continued to cry. "You're alive."
"Spyro." Cynder took his head in her paws and stared him in the eyes. "Are you alright? You haven't been yourself since I found you yesterday morning."
Spyro then remembered and looked back at his bandaged wound. A horrible reminder that the Dark Master's existence was very real. But he had his dragoness here with him. Spyro forced a smile and stroked Cynder's cheek. "I'm going to be fine as long as I have you by my side."
"Spyro, I'm worried about you." Cynder whimpered. "It feels like you're falling apart from the inside out."
"I know." Spyro shook his head and looked down at his feet. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately. It just feels like I'm being haunted with memories of the past."
"I know how you feel." Cynder was finally able to get up and nuzzle him comfortingly. "I know all too well how that feels. But it's like I said before: You're not alone. You still have me."
Spyro smiled as his dragoness began licking the salty tears from his cheeks. "You're all I need Cynder. You're my strength when everything feels lost."
Cynder stopped her cleaning and smiled at him. "You've been my strength since the day you saved me from the Dark Master. I will do anything to help you and keep you safe. I'll follow you to the ends of the world."
"Anything?" Spyro tilted his head and gazed into her bright teal eyes.
"Just say the word Spyro." Cynder nodded and licked the last tear off his face.
Spyro sighed. "I don't what's going on with this whole bit about the wolves sudden uprising. But I have a really bad feeling about things. I want to protect you but I'm not sure how at this point."
"Spyro I..." He cut her off with his paw over her mouth.
"Just listen to me Cynder. I want you to trust me."
"But Spyro I do trust you." Cynder protested.
Spyro shook his head. "Cynder you're missing the point. When I say trust me..." He leaned in close and stared hard into her eyes. "I mean, trust me." His voice suddenly grew stern and Cynder shrank back slightly. Her eyes wavered as they locked with Spyro's searching for some sort of explanation. At last she caught on to what he was asking of her and she nodded.
"You can count on me Spyro." She puffed her chest out, to show her determination.
"Thank you Cynder." Spyro smiled feeling some relief in her words. "Come on. Let's gather the others. It's time to head home."
Cynder smiled and nodded as she followed him out of their quarters. She was glad she had Spyro in her life. But deep down she couldn't help feeling a little bit scared. Something was on Spyro's mind and she hated being left out of the loop.