Ava was about to had Lucas another energy bar when Lucas reached into his coat pocket.
Not the visible one. The hidden seam inside the lining—double-stitched, sealed with microthread. He pulled out a small, round object. Fist-sized. Matte gray-black with veins of dried red streaking its edges like old rust. It pulsed faintly, low and slow, like a dying heartbeat.
Ava froze.
"Is that—"
"Raw core," Lucas said, examining it like a wine snob judging a bottle that might kill him. "Never activated. Risky volatile."
Cassi swore. "That's the kind they put in for People who failed their sync trials."
Lucas looked almost thoughtful. "Yes. I kept it for emergencies."
He didn't hesitate.
He put it in his mouth.
Ava lunged halfway forward before logic caught her by the sleeve. "Are you insane?!"
Lucas didn't answer. His jaw clenched down hard, cracking through the brittle shell. A faint hiss escaped his lips as faint red light pulsed behind his teeth.
