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“It is.”
Skystone is a rock that becomes malleable upon heating. It has conductive properties. When I read up on the human tradition of an engagement ring, I didn’t know what to do. It’s not like there is a rare gem store at the top of the mountain.
After we confronted Renxel, I found the communications shed. I was sure they would have some skystone there. It makes a good wire for an electrical current.
I found just what I was looking for. The fine threads of the extruded stone were twisted in an exquisite pattern. I didn’t need much wire, but I left some money for it, anyway. Then I welded the ends of the circle together.
I thought it looked pretty nice when it was done. The skystone catches the light and reflects blues and greens, sometimes purple. I hoped it would be enough to get her to agree to mate with me. Luckily, it was.
“We are what the humans call engaged. To be mated.”
Zaya immediately hugs Iara. Taurek leans in towards me.
“You mean?”
I nod.
“Fated?”
“Yes.”
Thankfully he doesn’t see the need for further information. Taurek checks his comm and says duty calls. They leave us to begin their official rounds. I’m about to tell Iara we should look for my parents when my own comm buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out.
“They’re here.”
“It will be fine.”
I don’t ask how she knows I’m worried. I also don’t try to pretend I’m not. Nevertheless, I let Iara lead me to the entranceway of the large hall.
I see my mother first. Something’s wrong, she looks lost.
She sees me, but instead of coming towards me, she starts waving frantically. My father comes down the hallway and stands next to her. She wraps her hand around his upper arm and points at me. He looks up.
Our eyes don’t meet, though. I’m not looking at him. I’m looking at them. An instant ago, my mother looked incomplete. Now that my father is by her side, she looks like herself. I stop suddenly, pulling Iara to a stop next to me.
“What?”
She doesn’t know what I see or feel. If I lost Iara, a piece of me would be missing forever. And that, I realize suddenly, must be what it is like for my parents.
It isn’t about being perfect for each other, or even making each other happy. In the end, everyone is responsible for their own happiness. I do want to make Iara happy, and I’m going to try like hell to make sure it happens, but I can’t depend on her to provide my happiness anymore than I can guarantee hers.
That’s not the point, though. It’s about that tiny but important piece of you that doesn’t belong to you anymore. It becomes part of your fated mate. And in return, you get that piece of them. It changes you forever, but it doesn’t make youwho you are. It doesn’t dictate your choices, what you do or don’t do.
It just is. I think about Iara, how it felt when I found her when she was lost. I had to save her. I felt as lost as her without her by my side.
What we do now is up to us. I lead her over to my family.
“These are my parents.” I can tell they are surprised, maybe just a little concerned, that I’m introducing them to a human. Well, if that’s not what they expected, the next thing I have to say might just knock them off their feet. “We’re fated mates.”
My dad blinks and then cracks a smile. My mom clasps her hands to her chest and then throws her arms around me.
“Oh, Rylan. You have no idea. Every mother, the first time she holds her baby, prays that one day her child will find their fated mate.”
“You do?”
“Of course. Who wouldn’t want their child to be made whole?”
I look at my father, who just shrugs.
