“An ancient cold storage formation?” Asked Zeke in surprise when I filled him in on what we’d found. “Damn, that’s not a bad find. You’re not going to take over the universe or anything, but they might have some interesting abilities. Sounds like lots of unique racial traits and bloodlines among them too. That’s a treasure trove for a candidate.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “So you think I should bring them out now? I just can’t shake the feeling it isn’t time yet.”

“Follow your gut, kid.” He shrugged. “Everyone has their own way of doing things. Plus your wedding is the day after tomorrow, I get deciding to wait. Speaking of which, how was your party? Have fun?”

“It was a blast.” I admitted. “Benny knows me well. Just the right blend of mindless fun and actual progress. The soul polishing was interesting. Though something weird did happen.” I mentioned the driver to him, and he sighed.

He paused as if choosing his words carefully. “I can’t do much for you there. I haven’t seen anything around, and I’ve been looking. And I can tell you that because the wedding isn’t part of your candidacy. With the big truce, you’re officially off limits to any high rankers associated with other candidates, so if I found something I would be allowed to tell. If I found another candidate making things happen I couldn’t tell you, but I could NOT tell you very obviously.”

“Which means nothing is going on.” I said, my shoulders slumping. I pulled my mask off, since we were alone, suddenly feeling a bit suffocated by it.

He shook his head. “Which means either nothing is going on or whatever IS going on is so far out of my weight class I can’t tell. But honestly, that’s always an option. Living your life in fear that you’re being seamlessly manipulated by an untraceable puppetmaster so powerful you can’t even tell they exist is how people go insane.”

“So you’re saying don’t worry about it?” I asked in a deadpan tone. “This more of your ‘if you can’t change it ignore it’ advice?”

Rolling his eyes, my uncle laughed. “Well if you knew what I was going to say, why bring it up?” He raised a brow at me, and I felt a force settle over us, masking our conversation. “Be honest. Is there any chance this paranoia might be a manifestation of cold feet? Trying to find a reason to put things off?”

“Not even a little bit.” I said firmly. “My feet aren’t cold. They’re the opposite of cold. I have hot feet. Like, walking on coals hot.”

And shockingly, it was true. I’d considered how surreal this was, wondered if I deserved it, considered how big a commitment I was making…and none of them had made me waver for even an instant.

I loved her. More than I’d ever loved anyone in my entire life. I’d sacrifice everything I had for her, give her anything she wanted, do anything she asked. I’d pluck the sun from the sky if she gave it a wishful glance. And she felt the same. I felt that every day. That surety, that peace, that love. She lived in my soul, for all intents and purposes, and I lived in hers. We were always together in a way more intimate than most couples could imagine, and exchanging vows was just making it official.

That was the part that floored me. How lucky I was. To know for sure what so many people had to guess at. I could live without it, mind. I’d proved that to myself in the ruined soul temple, but I didn’t WANT to. I didn’t want to live without it. I didn’t want to live without her.

He must have seen that on my face. “You really aren’t, huh? That’s no small thing, kid. I’m happy for you. Gods know I’m not exactly that sure of anything myself.”

“So we’re not going to be attending yours and Stella’s wedding anytime soon?” I asked sardonically.

“That depends.” He said quietly. “On if I get up the guts to ask her.” He snapped his fingers, and a box appeared in his hand. “I got this years ago.” He said, staring at it wistfully. “Back when things were good. But you were young and I had responsibilities. Wasn’t a great time. THen she figured out I wasn’t quite as harmless as I portrayed myself, and things between us went sour.”

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I stared at him in shock. “You’re serious?” I asked cautiously. “That’s…kind of huge. When are you going to ask?”

“I don’t know if I am.” He said thoughtfully, tossing the box up and catching it. “Not all of us are you, kid. Not all of us find our soulmate. Or maybe we do, and we’re too stupid to see it. I missed her when I was gone. That’s not something I’m used to. I’m a very ‘in the moment’ kind of person. I don’t dwell.”

His tone was light, but I could tell this was weighing on him. Not just this either. “You’re waiting for me to hit D-rank.” I said solemnly. “Until your geas breaks.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Or maybe that’s an excuse. I’m not necessarily going to bail on you as soon as you rank up, kid. My geas breaks and my time as a guardian will end but my job as your uncle isn’t over by a longshot. Especially with the competition’s final stage moving up. Some of the older candidates are at my level. You’ll need someone my strength for the final contest.”

I didn’t know much about the final contest, and I was sure he couldn’t tell me. But I believed him when he said I’d need him. It didn’t matter. “I don’t want you throwing away your happiness for me. Stella is E-rank. Only one more to D. Mastery is a watershed. You could help her, like we helped the others. Because you’re worried about that too, aren’t you.”

He sighed. “A to E is a big gap. I won’t stand here and say that’s not a factor. But more than that…this is new ground for me. I’m not sentimental, Shane. Not about this. I’ve had girlfriends, don’t get me wrong, but no one that stuck. But Stella…I saw her face.” His voice dropped, sounding tired as I’d ever heard it. “When I was fighting that skull masked fuck. When I thought I was going to die. I saw her face in my head. I wanted to see her again. Just one more time.”

“Really?” I said in surprise. “That’s kind of huge. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

He shrugged. “Bad business to advertise your weaknesses, kid. That’s Ascendant 101. Your girl is a powerhouse, and you’ve got that connection. You’re coming up together, so the cat’s out of the bag. Stacey…she’s not. She’s a vulnerability.” It took me a second to remember that Stella was her hero name. It had been a long time since I’d heard anyone call her anything else.

I wanted to disagree. Wanted to tell him he was being stupid and he should just be happy, but I’d seen the ugly side of the five factions. Seen what someone was willing to do to his own daughter just for a bit of power. He wasn’t wrong. “So make her strong.” I finally said. “You can help her find a Path. It’s not like she needs to make it to godhood. It doesn’t have to be a new Path. Just something that works. Hell, ask my grandmother, her Path is star based, right?”

He burst out laughing. “That’s your solution? You want me to call up the secret daughter of a pair of feuding gods and ask her to make my girlfriend her apprentice because I hung out with her daughter when we were younger?”

“Or have mom ask her.” I shrugged. “Or have mom teach Stella. Whatever you decide, you have options. Don’t let fear take your choice away. What’s the point of working your way up to A-rank if you’re too scared to use that power to protect the things you love. Live your damn life, Zeke.”

He blinked at me. “That…is wildly arrogant advice. I’m actually kind of proud. And you’re right. I’ll think it over. I have to talk to her about it, first. But at least I have the ring. Speaking of which, do you have yours?”

Laughing, I reached into a pocked, pulling out a small box of my own. I opened it, and inside sat…something spectacular.

“That.” Said Zeke with wide eyes. “Is a Cosmic Moment. THose are REALLY rare. How the hell did you even get that? I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one.” He gingerly picked up the ring, and stared at it in fascination.

“Where else would I get a crystallized supernova.” I said with a shrug. “It was moms. She gave it to me during the trip. She said she wanted me to have it.”

The ring was beautiful. A midnight black band of crystal, within which spun a thousand galaxies. Set into the top was a brilliantly glowing stone that pulse with a blue white light. A Cosmic Moment, like Zeke said. The captured energy of an exploding star.

The engagement ring I’d given Callie was nice enough, and the starpluck bangle was a great gift, but this was our wedding ring. The one she’d be wearing for the rest of our lives. And I wanted it to be special. I knew my moms offer was partially based in guilt and wanting to be part of my wedding, but honestly, that made it more special, not less. Getting the ring from my mom felt…right. Like it was one more thing showing that Callie was part of the family.

Zeke whistled as he put it back. “You know what you can do with one of those?” He asked ruefully.

“Nope.” I responded without hesitation. “No clue what it’s good for. But I know it’s priceless, and special, and beautiful. So it’s about half as important as Callie as far as I’m concerned. If that.”

He chuckled. “You’re such a sap.” I put the box away, returning it to my ring, and Zeke leaned over to clap me on the shoulder. “Hey.” He said, getting my attention. “I’m proud of you. For all of this. Who knew when your dad left you with me all those years ago you’d grow up to be a halfway decent guy.”

“You probably would have.” I said fondly. “If you hadn’t been so drunk most of my life.”

He snorted. “Please. Like any of the swill on this planet could actually affect me. I just like the taste.”

“So all those times you embarrassed me and passed out when I had friends over, you were just being an asshole?” I said in mock outrage. Zeke had never done anything that bad. He was mostly just not around. Now that I thought about it, that might have been his excuse to run the WCP branch in Valen.

We laughed together, talking about my childhood, and I was surprised how much of it he remembered. Things he hadn’t even been there for. Zeke really had been watching out for me my whole life, even when I couldn’t see him.

After our talk, I said goodbye, giving him a tight hug, and then headed for my room. I wanted to get some rest, plus spend some time with Callie. She was insisting we sleep apart the night before the wedding, so tomorrow night I’d be crashing with Benny. Something about not seeing the bride in her dress before the ceremony.

She was waiting for me when I got back, lying in bed with a soft smile on her face, and I curled up around her, feeling her warmth against me as I nodded off. The feeling of warmth and safety and love as I drifted off was irreplaceable. My feet, as I’d mentioned to Zeke, were toasty warm.