The moment Beatrice's chanting reached its crescendo, the ritual circle exploded with light. Arthur knelt at its center, feeling his wives arrange themselves around him like points of a star. Each touch sent lightning through his corrupted System—Isolde's fingers on his shoulder, Lily's hand against his chest, Lysandra's palm on his back, Urzara's strong grip on his arm, and Beatrice completing the circle with her hands covering his.
Lyralei lay just outside their formation, his dying body connected to the circle through lines of phoenix ash that glowed like molten gold.
"Focus on your bonds," Beatrice instructed, her voice strained with the effort of channeling divine magic. "Let them flow together. Don't resist the connection."
