The Foundational Grind was dark and quiet. The chairs were up on the tables. The floor was clean.
Leo sat on a stool behind the counter. The only light came from the Hearth-Warming Aura.
It pulsed gently in the corner. A soft, golden glow that pushed back the night's chill.
It's working perfectly. Just like he said it would.
He ran a cloth over the polished countertop. It was already spotless. He just needed something to do with his hands.
Tomorrow was the vote. The whole city felt like it was holding its breath.
And all he could think about was Arthur.
*******
He remembered the last time he'd seen the old man. Right here in this shop. Arthur's hands had been shaking so bad he could barely hold a coffee cup.
But his eyes were still sharp.
"It's not about being the biggest, Leo," he'd said. His voice was a raspy whisper. "It's about being connected. A single thread snaps easy. A net holds."
Leo had nodded. He hadn't really understood back then.
He thought it was just an old man's rambling.
Now, he knew it was a prophecy.
****
He stood up and walked to the back wall. There, on a small shelf, sat Arthur's old coffee tamper.
It was heavy, made of solid, dark wood. Worn smooth in the middle from a thousand presses.
Leo picked it up. The wood was cool against his palm.
You'd be proud of her, old man. She's building it right.
Anya wasn't just building a union. She was weaving a net. Just like he'd said.
The Ironvine smiths. The Willowbrook potters. The dyers, the weavers, the glassblowers.
She was connecting them. Making them stronger together.
It was exactly what Arthur had dreamed of.
*****
He held the tamper tightly. He closed his eyes.
For a moment, he was twenty years younger. The shop was bustling. The smell of fresh coffee was strong.
Arthur was behind the counter, his laugh a loud, joyful sound.
"The trick isn't the magic, kid," he'd say, winking. "It's the warmth you put into it."
Leo could almost feel a hand on his shoulder. A warm, heavy, comforting weight.
It felt like approval.
It felt like… goodbye.
His eyes snapped open. The feeling vanished. The shop was silent again.
But the warmth lingered. Not from the Aura. From something else.
*****
A soft chime echoed through the quiet shop.
It was the same sound he'd heard months ago. The day Anya had fixed the Aura. The day everything began.
Ding.
The sound was clear and pure. It hung in the air for a moment before fading away.
Leo looked around. The shop was empty. The door was locked.
There was no source for the sound. It was just… there.
A sign.
He placed the tamper back on its shelf with a new reverence. His hands were steady.
The fear was gone. The doubt had vanished.
He knew what was going to happen tomorrow. He didn't know who would win. He didn't know what the vote would be.
But he knew the foundation was solid. Anya had built it well. Arthur's dream was safe.
He walked to the door and turned the lock. It was time to go home. Time to rest.
Tomorrow would be a big day. A new chapter.
He smiled as he stepped out into the night. The warm glow of the Aura followed him out, a promise of what was to come.