Fire and Fury

The two weeks proceeding the prior events had been daunting for the purple dragon, as expected.

Saying that, the first week was fine since he didn't have work to worry about. He could focus on his family and Cynder. During this time, he made leaps and bounds in both directions.

Solaria loved the fact Spyro was home with her and their kid. They were doing lots of things their family should've been doing, like having dinner together or going to the park. It was the time together she valued. She was, however, gradually growing more jealous the more time Spyro spent with Cynder and the secrets he withheld from her. Her attempts to convince him to stay were getting more drastic.

Speaking of Cynder, spending time bounty hunting with her was easily the highlight of his week. He loved everything about it; he could blabber on for hours. Plus, he really felt it was helping with his condition. He hadn't noticed a change yet, but no one had said it would be a quick transformation. Nevertheless, he was certain that these adrenaline rushes he got whenever he fought were purging him. On top of this, the confidence and combat skills he was once famous for were slowly being restored.

However, Solaria was beginning to become an issue again. Though she was 'happy' in the beginning, her jealousy streak had started to shine through. She had been trying to persuade him to stay home or even distract him away from it.

Regardless, both of these events were hit hard once his grueling work returned. Because of it, he spent even less time at home than before everything happened. But to counteract this, he stuck to his promise and promptly stopped working on the weekends.

Obviously his agent wasn't happy with this, but since Spyro wasn't legally bound by the contract, there was nothing he could do. No amount of ifs or buts swayed the purple dragon. Solaria was very happy for this change. Since she also had to work again, it meant that they had to rehire Moneybags, much to her disapproval.

Meanwhile, his work also meant that the moments with Cynder were postponed to the days where he worked in the mornings, leaving just enough time in the evenings to complete jobs. It took a bit of effort to resist his agent's rants, but he put his foot down. So what if a few privileged families were mildly disgruntled? That wasn't his problem, not anymore.

Cynder also kept hinting at an impossible job, one that would trump any that they'd done before. So there was that to look forward to.

These three aspects of his life left him with very little downtime, and regularly leeched off his sleeping hours. He often drifted into a hazy daydream until something or someone disturbed him out of it. However, he was committed to this new schedule.

Today was another mundane day. He was hired to attend a birthday party of a dragoness who had turned eighteen, and all her friends were there. The amount of pent-up hormones was staggering.

Throughout the day he kept one eye on the clock. He swore it was purposely going slow to prolong his discomfort. It was made even worse by his anticipation to see Cynder again, since they had planned another hunting session together. By the one hour left mark, his feet were tapping out of habit. He could see his agent standing at the edge, glaring with a look that said 'I dare you to finish on time.' He had not been happy since Spyro broke the news, yet the dragon couldn't care less.

He liked the mole, but found he could be very manipulative, particularly when money was involved. So when the mole's money press started cutting back hours, the agent pressed into him hard.

But no matter how hard the mole glared, Spyro wasn't staying at this prison of sexual aggression. When the clock did finally hit three, he marched over to the mole to let him know he was leaving; he had to at least remain professional on such matters. Despite the mole going on another pointless rant, Spyro walked out of the establishment and went into the one place the mole couldn't bother him – the sky.

He had to head home first to drop some stuff off before meeting up with Cynder.

He was greeted with open claws and a nuzzle on the cheek, which put a smile on his face. This was unexpected, since Solaria should've still been working. She passed the bundle of joy she was carrying over to him.

"Afternoon, dear. How was today?" she asked.

"It was bad, as usual. But what are you doing here?" he responded in between evading attempts of face-grabbing by his son.

"Late lunch break."

She was lying. Most of the time when she lied on the spot, she spoke quicker and would fidget. Her tail was flicking. He had a dreaded gut feeling that he knew what this was about. "I thought you always ate in your office, though?" Her claws shifted, which only confirmed his suspicions.

"We were in the middle of an important meeting before and I thought that, due to the time, it would be a nice surprise to greet you."

It would've been nice if her intentions were genuine. "Say, where is Moneybags?" He gave a look around. There was no sign of the bear or the artwork he would usually be working on.

"I dismissed him early since you were coming home now."

Spyro almost choked on his words. "You what? But– I was meeting up with Cynder. You know that."

Solaria looked 'shocked.' "I'm sorry. I forgot. But ah well, I'm sure you can live missing a day."

He was outraged. His unoccupied claw flung out. "What the hell, Solaria?" She had tried subtle attempts to push him to abandon plans before, but this was on a new level. "We talked about this yesterday. You were fully aware of what you were doing when you did this." Stifled cries were beginning to be heard from Ignirius, but Spyro didn't care.

Solaria stared back disgusted. "How dare you accuse me of such things."

"How dare I? How dare you. These meet-ups with Cynder are far more important than you realise."

"Are they now? Why? What are you doing with her?" Her claws were crossed. To her, he was dangerously on the line of ticking her off.

But Spyro threw caution to the wind and steamrolled over that line. He practically thrust the distraught child into her claws. Then he turned around and stomped to the front door, leaving his mate bewildered.

"Where the hell are you going?!"

"Leaving you to clean up the mess you created. I'm sick of you always pushing me into these situations."

"Now, you better listen." She chased after him, her claw raised in anger, ready to strike. But instead, she was met with a slammed door.

She stood there in anguished silence, gently cradling their crying son. Never had she seen this much defiance from him. "This is her fault…" She repeated that line over and over in her head.

Two weeks of reforging their marriage, gone in a flash. As far as he was concerned, her jealousy was the main threat to his well-being. His closest friend was his biggest enemy.

All this time, he'd blamed Solaria's controlling behaviour on himself. He'd blamed his lack of self-confidence on himself. The moments he was weak were his fault. But that was never the case; he was certain of that now. All this time, Solaria had been breaking him until he was practically her slave. Or maybe that was his fury forcing him to think this way.

"No more," he thought.

Sadly, she wasn't the only victim of his wrath. Anyone who did as little as look at him suffered his piercing gaze. His own guards stiffened up and averted their gazes. Even the statues, the same ones who had bravely watched the hall for decades, stared upon him condescendingly. That drove him deeper into the hateful recess of his mind.

But, of course, it got worse. Coming down the same corridor was the last mole he wanted to see – his agent. He was dressed in grey, like a miserable lawyer. His eyes were trained on Spyro.

The purple dragon's mind dived another level in hatred. "What the hell do you want?"

The mole took a step back. "We need to talk about your attitude, kid." His words were sharp, clearly in no mood to joke.

But neither was Spyro. "You got a problem? Then screw off. I've got better things to do anyway." He stormed past the mole.

"Now, this is what I'm talking about. Your attitude stinks. What the hell happened to you?"

"Crap you wouldn't understand."

"If you've got a problem, kid, then you can talk to me. I'm all ears. But if you don't have anything to say, then you've got to drop that attitude. We're losing valuable clients because of it." He struggled to keep up with the dragon, practically jogging just to keep pace.

"And that's my problem? You're my agent. Go find more. There's enough fat pigs throwing gems around here wanting my arse to fill their gloating chairs." He received a couple of nasty looks from a pair of drakes in that category, followed by looks of horror.

"Look, let me put it to you simply. If you keep up like that, I'm gonna have to drop you. Which I don't really want, and neither do you," the agent growled under his breath.

"I couldn't care less, honestly. You would be doing me a favor. Now go away."

The mole snapped. He stopped where he stood. "Alright. I've got no choice but to suspend your contract until you sort yourself out. I can tell you aren't yourself right now and got your own issues to sort out. Come back to me when you're ready to talk on proper terms."

"Good." He stomped off once more towards the gardens. He didn't care that he was angry, not since he had realised that it was everyone else giving him grief.

The agent could only shake his head, muttering under his breath.

"Now, you better listen!"

Thud.

The Guardian of Ice halted at the sounds of the door slamming and the appearance of a furious purple dragon storming out. He shook his head and sighed. "It appears young master Spyro is having another of his fits…"

It was best if he was left be. There was nothing Cyril could do to help at the moment. Besides, he needed to find Solaria urgently. He waited for the purple dragon to storm deeper into the hall before approaching the door to his home. He knocked gently.

It was quickly opened by the dragoness in question. "Back already, scum?" Her tone was sharp and sarcastic.

Cyril could only give an awkward smile.

Solaria turned pale. "Er– Master Cyril! I'm really sorry. That was meant for Spyro–"

"It is quite alright, dear. I understand that wasn't intended for me."

She sighed. "Thank you. Sometimes I just feel like hitting him. Please, come in."

"As much as I would love to, I'm afraid we've been summoned to the boardroom by Terrador. He has some urgent news he needs to discuss with us." He looked around and caught a glimpse of the little hatchling scooting himself across the floor. He tried to give a little wave.

Solaria dragged a claw down her face. "Not now… I'm dealing with enough as it is. Can't it wait?"

"I am afraid not. We have to assemble now; the other two are waiting."

"But I've got no one to look after Ignirius. I've already sent Moneybags away and Spyro's just left."

"The guards can look after him."

She shook her head. "No they can not. I am not trusting him to anyone."

Cyril sighed. They were already late and didn't have time to find an alternative. "Then we have no choice but to take him with us."

Taking your one-year-old son into an important meeting was certainly not business etiquette. However, with no other options, it was the only way. Terrador, the leader of the guardians, counted that all participating members were present. The doors to the sanctum were sealed behind them.

"Fellow guardians and young master in training" – he nodded to the giggling child – "I'm afraid I have called you here today concerning a grave matter."

Volteer turned his head, while Cyril and Solaria exchanged puzzled looks.

"Our scouts from Dante's Freezer have been giving reports of major military activity from the trolls. We could be looking at another potential war."

Volteer murmured something incomprehensible while Solaria stared at Terrador with wide eyes.

Cyril spoke up. "Excuse me for the interruption, Terrador. But are you adamant that this is the case?"

"I'm afraid so. We've been monitoring their actions for a while now and are certain they're preparing for an invasion. The scouts also tell of numerous siege engines and a fleet of ships. Whether it is us they are planning to invade or another continent, it is a threat we cannot leave to chance."

"The trolls are notorious for their endearment of conflict. The contemporary series of oppressive heat over the years have also had a noticeable impact on the environment, particularly in the chilly wasteland that is Dante's Freezer. This potentially concludes that the trolls have been released from their icy enclosures by the passing decade of heat and have resumed their pursuit for confrontation."

"Yes, Volteer. We are well aware that heat melts ice," Terrador said. "Which is why I believe action should be taken now to prepare. We need to increase our military power; double the cannons on the wall and double the patrols. We may also need to introduce some safety measures and lock down the city, depending on circumstances."

"And what about the citizens?" Cyril asked. "Do we let them know?"

Terrador nodded. "Same protocols as last time. It is better for them to be prepared and scared, than scared and in the dark. We will tell them that we could be preparing for war."

Solaria hadn't really been listening; she was in a trance-like state. The thought of war had her frozen. She shook her head. "For the love of the ancestors, can we please not have a war, not now? I've got enough to deal with as it is."

"Solaria!" Cyril retorted.

Terrador frowned. "If you have a method to prevent this war, Solaria, then please tell. We are all listening."

Solaria realised she had spoken aloud again. She quickly shut her maw. "Sorry, I was just thinking of other stuff."

"I would be taking this matter much more seriously if I was you," Terrador warned. "This is not the time for personal issues, not when the threat of war looms over us."

She nodded. She tried to focus on the problem being discussed. "I understand, and again apologise."

Terrador grunted. "Good. This moves me onto my next point. As you are probably aware at this point, Cynder has returned to the city. With her back here, I am certain she and our own resident hero will help immensely in repelling any invasion."

Her name alone brought smiles to the three oldest guardians and a low growl from the last.

"This does mean, Solaria, that you will also need to step up. This will be your hardest challenge thus far, but I am certain we can tackle it head on. It also means that we might need to bring Spyro out of hero retirement."

"Wait? What? No, you are not. Spyro is my mate and I refuse to let him put his life on the line!"

"I'm afraid we might not have a choice. I'll have to ask him personally, but we cannot force him if he chooses not to."

"I'm telling you on his behalf, he is not fighting in this war. I don't need another reason to lose him, not when one bitch is already trying to steal him."

"Solaria–!" Terrador flared his nostrils.

Cyril quickly turned to Terrador and raised a claw to pause him. "Allow me a second alone outside with Solaria. I will sort this trouble out."

The green guardian nodded. "Granted."

"Come, Solaria." His tone was firm and his patience tested.

Her eyes widened. Reluctantly, she followed with her child in tow. Cyril opened up the door and let the smaller guardian out first. He ordered the guards to leave for ten minutes. Only when they had scattered and the door was sealed did he speak.

"What in this realm is wrong with you today, Solaria?"

"I… I'm sorry." She sounded genuine this time. "It's just with everything going on at the moment, it's been really stressful. Now we're talking about a war?"

Cyril exhaled. "I understand, Solaria. Regardless, this war is bigger than the two of us. We have to put aside these smaller rabbles for the time being and prepare for the upcoming storm."

"Cyril, I can't just push this problem aside, you know that." She looked down sadly.

"I'm afraid we do not have a choice in the matter. Not when our world is in grave peril."

She placed her child on the floor so her paws were free. "My way of life is already threatened. I'm telling you, Cynder is out to steal Spyro from me."

"I am certain that Cynder has no such ambitions."

"The evidence is there, I'm telling you. She just happened to reappear shortly after the Day of Heroes Festival with no explanation of why she was gone? Doesn't that sound suspicious?"

He pondered for a second. That indeed was slightly particular. "I suppose it does somewhat. But she does have a reason. She was with your father, Ignitus, in the White Isle. He is the new chronicler."

She just stared at him with her maw open like the world's biggest idiot. "What the hell are you on about? Are you even listening to yourself? My father, who bravely died saving this world, bless his soul, happens to become the chronicler? Do you realise how ridiculous that sounds?"

That threw a wrench in the works. Cyril stopped and realised how mad that sounded, despite it being true. "I… erm. You have a valid point there. But I do not understand why Cynder would lie about such a thing."

Solaria gave a sarcastic look. "I bet you she was testing what she could get away with. And apparently it's anything."

While Cyril didn't appreciate that backhanded insult, he did see her point. "I still do not understand. She is a lovely young miss. Surely she understands that Spyro is with you?"

"Maybe she does. But that isn't stopping her."

"But what about the plan?"

"Your plan failed, Cyril. At first I thought it was working, despite my judgement." She sat on her haunches. The dam was coming down. "You saw what happened. He's growing more unruly. I can't keep him under control anymore." Her head drooped once more. "I still love him, despite all his flaws. But I'm not sure if he loves me anymore, and that terrifies me. I wake up in the middle of the night worried that he won't be there beside me. Again, I'm sorry for the way I was acting. I'm just not prepared to handle such a scary aspect. How can I help handle a war if I can't even handle my husband…"

Truth be told, their marriage had been weighing heavily on his mind. Ever since his argument with Spyro, his head had been a cauldron of confusion. But listening to Solaria spill it out again had cleared that mess up. From that, he was able to draw his own conclusion.

In his most honest opinion, these two dragons should never have been together. They were united in joyous harmony for the wrong reasons. And since then, their family had been suffering, with Ignirius in the centre. A household of conflict and yelling was not healthy for a hatchling.

He believed the best course of action would be for them to go their own ways. They should come to a mutual agreement that they'd tried to make it work but it simply wasn't happening, and that a divorce was the best thing for them.

Obviously that didn't mean that Spyro and Cynder should be together. That would just be wrong. Plus, Cynder's unknown motives troubled him. Solaria had gotten him to think straight and now her story seemed more like a lie. Maybe she was after him after all. How did he allow himself to believe that story so easily…? On top of this, because of his ignorance, his plan had only made the situation worse. It gave Cynder free reign to spend more time with Spyro. He felt guilty for his mistake.

Spyro was right, he really wasn't fit to deal with this issue.

"What should I do, Cyril?"

He cleared his head and turned his gaze towards her. She looked weary all of a sudden. Like confessing had sapped the energy out of her. But was she really asking his help again, despite his last plan blowing up badly? "I do not have a clue."

Solaria stared back hopelessly, like the last thread had just slipped through her grasp.

"I am sorry, my dear. I really do not know." He sighed. They needed to get back to the others; they'd been waiting long enough. "I am afraid I must go now. Please head home and get some rest, you look like you need it. I shall explain your absence on your behalf." He was saddened. He hated having to leave her like this, but like he'd said, there were bigger things going on.

"What? Please, no." Despite her smaller stature, she tried clinging to his forelegs. Her last lifeline was slipping away. "I can't deal with this anymore. I need your help, more than ever. I try to stay out of Spyro's business, but my soul physically won't allow me."

He tried ignoring her; there was nothing more he could do to help.

"Please, Cyril. Why won't you help me anymore?" She gave up trying to hold him back and instead stood in front of him, her claws still holding onto his.

Cyril sighed. "I do not know why you wish for my help, particularly after my last appalling effort. What is it you want?"

"The truth."

The pleading in her eyes battled his resolve. He gave a final sigh. Despite not believing she could handle the truth, he would tell her. "I do not believe that you and Spyro should be together. I think that you married for the wrong reasons. It is clear for a number of reasons that you two do not love each other equally. For your sake, and particularly for Ignirius, I think it is best if you two got a divorce."

Her heavy breathing slowed as she looked up at the great guardian. Her expression was impossible to read. But slowly, her brow furrowed. She began shaking uncontrollably. Her last open door closed and her last light of hope flickered out.

With a howl of rage, she threw herself off him. "You know nothing about our marriage! Spyro still loves me and I love him!" She roughly scooped her child up and stormed down the corridor.

Sadly, as expected, she couldn't handle that reality. Cyril knew how much she relied on him, but he could not help anymore. So to have the one dragon you rely on tell you the exact opposite of what you want to hear, it was no wonder she broke down as she did. He could only hope she really thought about his words. If not for herself, then for the victim who was born to mend a broken relationship. And he really hoped she was wrong about Cynder…

Sadly, with how many things he'd been wrong about, those hopes were dwindling fast. Something was going to give very soon.