Page 42 of Autumn L.A.W

Crystal stepped back, hands on her hips, surveying the setup. “Something feels… off.”

Brianna followed her gaze around the circle. Then she frowned. “We’re short two people.”

Rayna nodded. “That’s why it feels odd.”

The absence sat there with them, gentle but unmistakable.

“Sahara should be placing the quarter candles right now,” Magda said quietly. “She hates letting anyone else touch them.”

“And Lioness would be arguing with the fire pit,” Joell added. “Insisting it’s ‘too aggressive.’”

Crystal smiled faintly. “And she’d probably be right.”

Brianna tilted her head. “Sahara and Ezra should be in the air by now. Or on a ship. Or wherever one takes an ancient obelisk without alarming customs.”

Rayna huffed. “She has Egyptian antiquities contacts. Don’t ask. Plausible deniability is a legitimate coping mechanism.”

Magda placed a small dish of honey on the altar. “She’s doing the right thing. Returning it to its native land. Closing the loop.”

“I know,” Crystal said. “But it still feels strange without her.”

Joell leaned back against a tree, arms crossed. “And Lioness?”

Rayna’s expression softened. “She’s staying with Cal. At least until he can walk, bathe, and make terrible decisions unassisted.”

“Love that for her,” Brianna said fondly. “But their falling in love was fast.”

Magda nodded. “Very fast.”

Joell arched a brow. “We're going to pretend we’re not all thinking it?”

Rayna shrugged. “We can think it. We just don’t interfere.”

“That’s the rule,” Crystal said. “No meddling. Even when it looks like emotional freefall is looming.”

Brianna smiled. “Especially then.”

Magda glanced toward the fire, sparks drifting upward like brief stars. “They’ve saved each other’s lives. That accelerates things.”

“And Lioness doesn’t half-feel anything,” Rayna added. “She never has.”

Joell sighed. “I just hope she knows what she’s doing.”

Crystal looked around at the altar, the offerings, the careful balance of light and shadow. “She does. Or she’ll learn. Same as the rest of us.”

The wind stirred the trees, leaves whispering overhead.

Crystal picked up the bell. “Ready?”

They gathered, brushed hands, then linked. The circle closed easily, familiarly, even with its quiet gaps.

Rayna spoke first. “Mabon. The equinox. Balance.”

Magda followed. “Gratitude for what we’ve harvested.”

Brianna added, “And what we’ve survived.”

Joell smirked. “And for what hasn’t killed us yet, and won’t in the future.”