A/N: Hey guys, I'm really sorry that this chapter took such a long time to write, I've just been really busy, and I mean busy! Anyway here's Chapter III!

III

Titan is dead. Cynder's fear for her children's lives finally was ended. She knew that no one would ever go after threaten their lives' ever again. But what made her victory even more satisfying is the fact that she now had a lead to Spyro. Her four years of neglect might actually end. But her chance laid with a human, a creature who belonged to a dying and violent race, and a very powerful one at that. If Drake had any hostility towards her it could be the end of her mission, and life. Was it wise to take the risk and try to bring her mate back to her? Cynder stared as Drake made a new blindfold out of some black smoke and tied it across his eyes. As she watched the human doing this she realized she never saw his eyes, and obviously from the fight Drake was not blind. He was hiding his eyes, but why?

Drake finished tying the blindfold to his eyes and turned his body to Cynder as if he was surprised she was still there. "What are you doing?" he asked distraughtly, "Get out of here!"

This proved to Cynder that he was protecting her so she felt confident enough to ask. "You know Spyro?"

Drake hesitated at the purple dragon's name. He ran his hands through his unruly hair nervously and finally spoke. "He saved my life. I owe him everything."

"Do you know where he is?"

Drake sighed. "Listen to me," he started, "Is he worth it? Is saving him worth losing your life?"

"Yes," is all she said, "I can't live without him and I will stop at nothing to bring him back to me! Not until I am back in his arms!"

"Do you think it wise to be that obsessed over him?"

"You try being with someone you love for half a year and then having them disappear, never to return. Look, I can live on without him if I had to. I have for four years to the day. But now that I know he's alive I have to have him next to me! I have a chance to end the pain I feel everyday!"

"He asked me to protect you if I ever ran into you during my hunting runs. I will not break that vow."

"You don't have to break your vow, but you can't stop me either."

Drake took a few breaths and thought about what he was going to say next. "He was afraid that you'd say that if you knew he was alive. Fine!" he exhaled, "But we are doing this my way! You follow my lead and listen to what I say or Overseer Naomi will kill you and possibly me. Understand?"

"Completely." This was it, Cynder made her decision. She made a choice that could probably be the end of her, and she knew it. But the dragoness didn't care. This certainty of death meant nothing to her as long as she had a chance to see her Hero one last time.

"Well, here goes nothing." Drake said. He shot a fireball beneath his feet and stood still as the ball exploded and made a circle of fire around him. "I'm summoning the Overseer," he said before he continued with the ritual. The fire burned marks in the ground that looked like crosses to Cynder. After the fire stopped Drake stood up from his kneeling position and looked up at Cynder. Beneath his blindfold his eyes began to glow blood red. Shivers crept up her spine at the sight. The human shot another fireball at the ground but with greater intensity and this one was just as red as his eyes. After he shot the fireball his eyes stopped glowing and the flame circle change colors to match the color of the fireball.

Behind Drake appeared a wall made out of red fire. The human backed away from the circle he made then faced the wall of fire. Within seconds a black silhouette stepped from the wall and the fire extinguished itself. Cynder's eyes adjusted to the quick change of light and saw a familiar figure where Drake drew the circle on the ground. Naomi's eyes still glowed orange in the night, which gave a sinister aura to her. She was wearing the same armor as before but two curved swords were sheathed on her back.

As Naomi approached Cynder she couldn't help but rumble a growl I the back of her throat. The very sight of the Overseer made every one of Cynder's feral instincts act up and as every second passed it became harder not to want to lunge towards the human. But she had to gather all her strength to restrain herself. If she didn't Cynder could lose her chance to ever find and save Spyro.

A wicked smile snaked across Naomi's face as if she knew how hard it was for the dragoness to control herself. "I was hoping the male would've survived instead," she sneered, "Those muscles of his would've been a perfect addition to the arena. But obviously she is the better choice. However, there is one issue." Naomi turned her head to Drake and in an instant one of her swords flashed out of its' sheathe and pressed against his neck. Cynder hissed and lunged but ended her charge when her other sword was pointing directly at her. Drake motioned her to stop by holding his hand outstretched towards her. Cynder locked her instincts away in thoughts of being close to Spyro. Naomi never moved her attention to the dragoness, she was completely focused on the man who was at the other end of her blade. "Why isn't she shackled?!" she yelled.

"She wishes to be turned instead," Drake said. He didn't even have an ounce of fear in his voice, like the blade that rested against his bare neck didn't even exist. And what did the human mean by being 'turned'? More and more questions popped up into her head.

"Does she now?" The Overseer flipped her blades back into their sheathes and moved closer to the puzzled dragoness. "What's your name, Dragoness?"

Cynder found it hard to speak at first. She gulped and finally found her voice. "Cynder, former Queen of Terror, and mate to Spyro, Champion of Warfang," she hissed, full of pride. Dammit Cynder! she cursed at herself, that was not a smart thing to say!

"Well we sure can't call you that in the Hold," Naomi laughed, "Plus if anyone knew that Malefor's pet was housed within our walls… well let's just say your usefulness would run thin rather quickly. We shall call you by a different name, so that the only ones who know of your true name would be Drake and I. How does Ruth sound?" Cynder snorted in acceptance before the Overseer smiled and flipped around to face Drake. "And since you're the idiot who left your new pet without a leash, she will be kept under your care. I'll arrive to start the turning early in the morning." Drake bowed his head and Naomi stormed off towards Titan's body. "See you then Ruth." Her entire body turned into a firestorm, which then covered the dragon corpse behind her and quickly vanished, leaving no trace of the woman and Titan.

"Well," Drake broke the silence, "That went better than it could have."

"What did you mean by being 'turned'?" Cynder quickly asked.

The human looked at her with a concerned look, tightening his jaw. "This isn't the place to be talking about this. Let's get to my house instead."

Cynder nodded. Drake walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. The human's touch sent chills down her spine and made her feel like she's never felt in a long time. He took a deep breath and his body began to turn into black smoke. Cynder knew what he was doing so she did not flinch when the black smoke reached her. She always recognized the shadows when she saw them. In a few seconds her body was disappearing into the shadows. The forest around her vanished and her whole world went black. But then, as if she was only closing her eyes, she was standing inside a stone building.

Beneath her feet she could feel a soft cover over the ground, as if the floor was covered in a cushioned blanket. Some of the buildings in Warfang had similar covers on their floors called carpets. Cynder only guessed that the humans called it the same thing. Behind her was the door to the house and to the left of it was the window which just like in Warfang it was covered with glass. She remembered that the dragons came up with glass during the reparation of the city. It was a combination of sand and fire from what she could remember.

"It's not much, but it's home," Drake said walking past the dragoness to the couch on the wall to her left. Near to the back of the house was a large bed, big enough to fit two fully grown dragons if they didn't mind being very close to each other. Behind the bed was a staircase leading to a closed door. Next to the couch were a wardrobe and a fire pit that was encased with stone but had a small opening which revealed some burning cinders, meaning Drake had a fire going before he left and put it out.

But then Cynder turned her head to the right of the house and was shocked to see it covered in skulls. Seeing that mostly dragon skulls were on the wall made her anger flare up like a firecracker, but it also puzzled her to see human skulls as well. But in the middle of the wall displayed a skull that was twice the size of a dragon's and looked as if it had multiple razor sharp finger-like appendages for a mouth. She picked up the skull to observe it further and found that there were no sockets for the eyes anywhere. What the hell is this thing?! she asked herself.

"I bet you have quite a few questions you want to ask now," Drake interrupted her analyzing of the house.

Cynder put the skull back on the shelf and stared at the human. During her exploration of the small house Drake had taken off his vambraces, his boots, and his socks. They were just thrown lazily on the ground in front of the couch.

"Just one for right now," Cynder answered. Drake walked past her to the bed and looked as if he was about to collapse onto it from exhaustion. Instead of doing what his body obviously wanted to do, however, he turned around and sat on the bed, slouching his shoulders as he did. By this point the blindfold around his eyes was beginning to irritate the black dragoness. To ignore the urge to rip it off Cynder continued. "What did you mean by being 'turned'?"

Drake ran his hand through his hair and slammed it back down on the bed. He's nervous, Cynder thought to herself, Good! "Look," he started, "Not all of the humans in this hold are, well, human… A small percentage of us are actually dragon. So…"

"So I'm going to be turned into a human," the black dragoness interrupted in annoyance, "Lovely."

"Not exactly," Drake said doing his best to calm Cynder down, "More like granted the ability to turn into one and forced to stay in that appearance in public."

"Oh, well, that's not that bad."

"Except for the fact that the process is painful and disorienting."

Cynder raised her brow in confusion. "How would you know that?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Oh, right… Spyro…" Cynder felt a sudden rush of blood to her cheeks. To hide her blush she turned her head, but couldn't help the smile that crept across her maw.

"They were given the name, dragonspawn, because they 'spawn' from dragons."

"Clever. Do you know any other dragonspawn?"

"One other, a young whelp. His human name is Chase and he's the butcher's assistant. I believe his true name is Rook, through."

Rook is alive too?! "What does Spyro do?"

"I don't think it's my place to say. Naomi will have my head and yours if I told you anymore." Drake moved nervously. Something was eating away at him but he was forced into keeping his lips sealed. He nervously rustled around on his bed before asking, "Do you want me to set up a bed for before I crash?" he asked slowly turning to Cynder.

"No," she answered shaking her head softly, "I can last one night on the ground." Cynder couldn't stop her staring. There was just something to this human that made her feel at home. Something about him made her feel safe, it was a feeling she's only ever had with one other, Spyro. She couldn't understand why however.

"Okay… Well I'm going to sleep. I suggest you do the same."

"You're not even worried that I'll kill you in your sleep?"

Drake chuckled before standing up. "Well, if you did that Naomi would hunt you down, and you would lose your chance to find your mate."

Cynder snorted in anger. No matter how much it angered her, the human was right. She laid down on the carpet. Because of the fire, the carpet was warm and welcoming. She watched as Drake lifted his shirt from his body and threw it aside. He was obviously attractive by human standards but what Cynder couldn't stop staring at were the feint scars on his entire abdomen. She looked down at her own chest and saw that his scars were similar to hers.

Drake finally took his blindfold off next but Cynder couldn't see them due to the darkness of the room. But they gleamed in the moonlight and it was what she needed to prove that the human wasn't blind. His eyes moved to look into Cynder's then up and down her. This made the dragoness very uncomfortable and she turned away. However, nothing could stop her from looking back at him slowly, no matter how hard she fought herself.

Drake smirked and ran his hand through his hair once again. Cynder blushed at this sight. God dammit Cynder! She mentally kicked herself. Why do I feel like this?

Drake turned around to get onto his bed and Cynder was shocked to see the scars on his back. On his shoulder blades were claw marks that started from the middle of his back and came down diagonally to his ribs, as if the claws were dragged downward. The claw marks also showed that whoever or whatever left them had four fingers.

"Sleep well, Angel," Drake said softly.

Instinct and fury took over Cynder's actions as soon as she heard her nickname. She flicked her tail at him making him stagger from the bed, hissing and baring her fangs while she did so. Her claw flashed in the moonlit sky as it was flying at Drake, slamming him into the wall.

"Who are…" Cynder froze when her eyes met with Drake's. At this distance she was able to see his eyes a little better than before and their bluish tint startled her.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Drake angrily exclaimed.

Cynder shifted her focus from the human's eyes to the fireplace behind her. "Make it brighter in here so I can see your eyes!" she ordered.

"Why?!"

"Just do it!" she hissed, flashing her fangs at him. Drake's mouth curved into a mischievous smirk and the room lit up enough for Cynder to see his eyes more clearly. They showed the strength that his body resonated but a calmness that made every nerve in Cynder's body fight to not want to melt at their sight. But their color unnerved Cynder ever more. They were a vibrant violet, a color she has only seen twice.

Her heart skipped a beat and her limbs went limp, dropping Drake on the ground. Every muscle in her body froze and Cynder was lost in her emotions. Every single painful memory she had hit her with the force that would shatter the stone walls that protect Warfang. It took every last ounce of herself control to not let the emotional turmoil she was experiencing show. Unfortunately she felt her eyes to begin to water up and the world around her began to blur.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at Drake. "Spyro?" she sniveled.

Drake let go of a loud laugh that made Cynder's anger flare again, she did not like being humiliated. "Why would you think that I'm your long lost mate?" he asked, still laughing.

"Multiple reasons," she snorted, not even trying to mask her anger.

The human's laughter quickly ended and his smile slowly faded. Cynder could see him swallow before he spoke. "Explain to me these 'reasons' then."

"My first reason that led me to be suspicious was when you knew my name. No other human knows who I am, not even the Overseer knew. But your excuse for that one was that you knew Spyro. But then you told me about the dragonspawn and I already knew you were hiding something from me.

Second, your voice. Your voice sounds very similar to his. The only difference is it's deeper. But then again Spyro's voice was beginning to change before he disappeared. Another was how protective you were over me. The other humans couldn't care less over which dragon survived. There are also those scars on your chest, they're the same as mine. Spyro and I got these during the battle with Malefor, he slammed us into the wall of the cave as we fell down to the core of the planet.

The scars on your back are the exact ones I gave to Spyro. But it wasn't from the many battles I had with him. I gave those claw marks to him the first time we became one." Her tears began to blur her vision again as the memories of that night flooded her mind. As she continued to talk the sadness she felt inside became more apparent. "And then you called me the one thing that only Spyro and my best friends called me, Angel. That was his nickname for me, that only he would ever say to me when we were alone. Not even the Guardians knew of that name. He would never tell anyone because he wanted to keep that name sacred to me and only me. It took Flame and Ember awhile to learn of it. But the thing that really gave you away is your eyes. I've fought humans before and I've never seen one with purple eyes! And as for dragons, that is a rare eye color. So tell me I'm wrong, Spyro!"

The house was quiet for a while. The only sound that could be heard was the peaceful chirping of crickets and Cynder's sniveling. Once again Drake ran his hand through his hair and smiled.

"About time," is all he said. Blinding light engulfed him and Cynder was forced to quickly shield her eyes. As each moment passed the light got brighter and brighter. Cynder forced herself to look into the heart of the blinding light and saw it become a fire made up of multiple colors.

The first thing that appeared from the rainbow colored flames was a claw. The purple scaled claw clenched into a fist and two giant wings sprouted from the fire. The massive wings were a few feet larger than Cynder's and its fingers were as golden as the sun. The leathery membrane between the wings fingers were a red-ish orange tint. Another claw shot out of the fire and both slammed into the carpet covered ground. A tail with a golden and barbed blade on the end slithered out of the fire. The fire started to fade rapidly and spiraled around the dragon in the middle. And then the room was silent again. The only noise in the house was the sizzling of the scales of the purple dragon's body.

The moon light still lit the room and allowed Cynder to study the dragon that now stood before her. Every feature on Spyro was exactly how she thought he would look. He was slightly larger than her and had the appearance and bulk of an earth dragon. The only difference was he was a little more slender but every single muscle was still well defined. He looked as if he could suvive any fight, but his body still showed off his gentle spirit. His horns were just as Cynder remembered them, they even still had the claw and bite marks she gave him while they wrestled, but were a little more faint.

The great purple dragon stretched out his wings and cracked his neck back into place. At last he opened his eyes and looked straight into her eyes and what she saw was happiness and sorrow. Her emotions began to flood her mind and eventually tears began to fall from her eyes yet again. Spyro's mouth curved into a smile and he began to talk. However, he was met with a swift slap across his face. The smile faded instantly and he lowered his head to look at the floor.

"Don't you ever fucking do that again!" Cynder screamed at the top of her lungs. She could no longer hold back her tears and her eyes began pouring them out. Spyro looked back up at her. "Why didn't you just tell me?!"

Spyro sighed. "If I did," he started, "both of us would be killed. Since you figured it out without me saying anything you most likely won't be punished."

Cynder's mood still didn't switch. "Oh yeah! Mister 'I'm going to be a hero by not telling Cynder who I really am'!"

He nodded. "Now I'm the only one who will be punished for being an idiot as Naomi loves to call me."

"Well, that's because you are an idiot!" The black dragoness' anger ended and she laughed for the first time since she entered Teirna Hold. But she immediately stopped when she noticed Spyro's saddened expression. "Oh Spyro, I was just playing." The purple dragon's mood didn't change, however. "Dammit Spyro! Don't turn this moment to a bad one! I thought you were dead for four years! So don't you dare ruin this moment!"

Finally a smile crept over Spyro's mouth. "I won't," he said. He lifted his claw and gently grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer to him. When they were merely centimeters apart he paused for a few moments. Each passing second felt like hours and Cynder's breathing became erratic as her anticipation grew higher. Spyro licked his lips and pulled her closer to him until their lips met. This new contact felt weird to her but she loved the feeling of being close to her Hero. Her breathing slowed but her heart rate increased dramatically. Her eyes automatically closed and Cynder lost herself in the moment. Eventually the black dragoness could feel her mate's tongue pecking at her lips. She didn't know how to react to this but as Spyro pushed harder on her lips she opened her maw and allowed him access. His tongue slid into her mouth slowly. His taste was to her savor now and only made her want more. She got what she wanted when she pushed his tongue out of her mouth and slithered her own tongue into his mouth. The taste of his mouth excited her and she explored every inch of it. Feeling the edges of his razor sharp fangs sent chill down her spine.

Spyro slowly pulled away, which made her almost move closer to him to continue the contact. But she began to gasp for air and remembered the need to breathe. She opened her eyes after Spyro was no longer touching her. They stared into each other's eyes while taking deep breaths trying to refill their lungs. Pleasure from the contact built up into her like a tidal wave.

"What was that?" she panted. Spyro smiled and placed his claw underneath her cheek. Blood rushed to Cynder's cheeks as she purred with anticipation.

"The humans call it a kiss," he answered, "It shares the same meaning as a lick for our species."

A sultry smile crept over her maw. Cynder pushed them both to their hind legs and Spyro was forced to the wall. "I want more," she commanded in her seductive tone.

Spyro quietly laughed before pulling his mate into another passion filled kiss. This one was short lived when he pulled away but after a deep breath he kissed again. The freedom of kissing brought no end of pleasure to Cynder. It made it nearly impossible for her to think. She began to slowly move her claws across his chest, feeling every muscle under his smooth scales. Spyro pulled away from the kiss and slowly kissed his way down to the nape of her neck.

The heat from his breathing on her neck gave Cynder a calming sensation. Then she felt him bring his mouth closer to her scales. He pressed his lips against her neck and opened his mouth wide enough to gently nip at her. The soft flashes of pain drove her over the edge and her body only begged for more. She pushed against his assaults making them increase in intensity. Cynder couldn't help the purr rising from her. When Spyro heard this he let out a small laugh. "You like that Angel?" he cooed to her. Cynder blushed and gently nodded.

Her instincts fought for control during the moment and it was beginning to drive her insane. One part of her wanted to force him into doing what fate has denied her for four years. But there was a part of Cynder that wanted to take it slow and make the pleasure last as long as both of them could last. It was all happening way too fast for her. She needed take a breath or two and figure out what she wanted in this moment. Cynder pushed Spyro off of her and staggered back. She could see the confusion in his eyes and felt sorrow for stealing the desire from him. She prepared for him to begin to question her, but all her Hero did was smile.

Her mouth curved up into a small smirk. "So you keep mentioning this so-called 'arena'," she said, "What is it exactly?"

"Well actually it's very similar to the one we fought in when the pirates captured us," Spyro began, still smiling, "It's a huge stadium where the competitors fight to the death. But it also serves a bigger purpose in the hold. You remember how the justice system works in Warfang?"

Cynder almost burst laughing at the question. "Duh!" she snickered playfully, "You do time in jail equal to the crime."

Spyro snorted and shook his head. "It's a different story here."

"What do you mean?"

"The justice system here says that no matter what crime you commit, whether it be stealing a loaf of bread or killing one hundred men in cold blood, you are sent to the arena and forced to fight for your freedom and survival."

The black dragoness' eyes widened. It shocked her that such an old race would be that oppressive. "What happens if you lose?" Really Cynder?! she sighed, It's obvious they die!

Spyro chuckled. "It's not a dumb question Angel," he assured her, "Yes they die but their magical powers are siphoned from their bodies and given to the Lords by the Overseer. The body is then made into a Blackguard."

"What's a… Wait! How did you know I thought that was a stupid question?!" Spyro's chuckles turned into a low but almost uncontrollable laugh. "You just find this entire thing amusing don't you Hero?"

"Perhaps just a bit," he winked, "Let's just say I've had quite a lot of time perfecting my abilities. And the Blackguard are the Overseers' personal guard. They are vicious, bloodthirsty, and very skilled in fighting."

"Great... I have two new things to worry about now. An army of undead who are trained to kill efficiently, and my mate knows how to read my mind!"

Spyro continued his laughing and eventually Cynder joined him. It felt good to tease around with him again. Four years of being alone has finally ended. Unfortunately, next came the challenge of freeing her Hero from this torture. But now it was time for her to enjoy his company and take advantage of the safety. Spyro yawned and climbed back into his bed to get some sleep but she wasn't about to let him get any sleep yet.

Cynder walked onto the bed with Spyro and reached for her mate's arm. When she grabbed it she could feel his muscles tense up. What else is on his mind? Is there more he wasn't telling her? She didn't care because it's been far too long without the feeling of being close to him, and even though in the past she took it for granted it was always on her mind when the black dragoness wasn't around her lover. She wanted him, she needed him, and she was about to lose her patience. Spyro looked right in her eyes and all Cynder could see was sorrow. Water drips were beginning to fall from the bottoms of his eyes. She couldn't tell if the tears were from happiness or from the sorrow she already saw in his eyes, but she wanted them to stop. But before Cynder could pull her claw up to his chin he lunged forward to her and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Cynder's tense muscles loosened at the feeling of being close to Spyro. As the kiss continued Spyro slowly moved his claws up and down her. This made her smile because he was almost acting as if he was trying to determine whether she was real or not. Cynder softly pulled away from the kiss for a quick breath then returned for another one. He tasted just the same as he did four years ago, even with the tears running down his face. And his scent got stronger as the moment continued. Every single detail of the moment just made the heat rise between them. She lost control and pushed Spyro on to his back and slowly moved her way up to straddle him. Spyro grabbed her roughly and pushed their maws together nearly devouring her entire mouth. For the first time in four years Spyro and Cynder finally had another chance to make love to each other.

A/N: Haha! No lemons coming from me, but in the future I might go into more details during these scenes. We'll see ;) Anyway, again, I'm sorry this chapter took such a long time to finish and I'll do my best to finish the next chapter as quickly as I can.