The spiral locked on the morning of their last day.
Leo had gone to the clearing alone. The others were still asleep, the cabin quiet in the pale dawn light, and he had not wanted to wake them. He sat cross-legged on the damp grass, the cold seeping through his trousers, the morning mist curling around his ankles. The first circle was automatic, spinning into its rhythm without effort. The second rose at his call, finding its orbit.
He let the circles move, let the repulsion and compulsion find their balance, let the weave tighten on its own. The wobble came. He let it pass. The structure corrected itself, the way Kai'sa had always said it would.
The spiral tightened. The two circles pulled closer together, the space between them no longer a gap but a bridge. The repulsion and compulsion balanced perfectly. The weave closed.
The second ring locked into place.
