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?!"