The calibration, however, was an anomaly the grand calculation above could not permit to reach its conclusion.
"Hold it right there!" Lucien shouted, his single grey eye spinning so fast the focal rings were smoking. His long fingers pressed hard against the floating obsidian slate. "The synchronization is climbing. Eighty-one percent. Eighty-three. Kael, keep your eyes on your mother! Do not look at the numbers!"
"I'm trying!" the teenage prince gasped, his teeth grinding together so hard a thin trail of crimson blood leaked from his lip. "But the gravity... it feels like it's pulling my ribs inside out! Mother, your fire is too hot!"
"Lean into my baseline, Kaelen," Gwen commanded, her golden eyes wide, her face locked into a tight, pale mask of absolute focus. "Let the heat dissolve your vacuum. Luna, anchor him from the northern flank!"
