Page 54 of It Starts With A No

Clary pushed that thought from her mind and forced a smile. “Yes. There’s more to see, right?”

* * *

“This is crazy.”

Seth grinned at Clary’s wide-eyed excitement. His brothers were never interested in his inventions. Even Movement’s board was never very impressed with the developments, since most of them were still in the research and development stage, which meant they weren’t bringing in the big money.

“And I thought the robotic hand was interesting.” She raised her arms, which were strapped to the exoskeleton, to get a closer look.

Movement already had a working prototype, but it was too big to be practical for daily use. “The government has been trying to get me to sell this to them.”

Clary easily lifted a two-hundred-pound weight, then put it down again. “This must be what Iron Man feels like.” Whatever had upset her just now seemed forgotten.

He was still curious, though.

He wanted to know what had caused her to look so troubled. It was right after she mentioned Oliver’s sleepwalking. Was it because she realized then how screwed-up he and his brothers were?

She seemed to have forgotten about that—for now, at least.

“You know Iron Man isn’t real,” he said.

She shot him a glare. “You shouldn’t sell it to the government. I don’t want you to end up stuck in a cave with a group of terrorists.”

He shook his head again, but his lips betrayed his amusement. “Now press the red button to unlock the exoskeleton from around yourself.”

“No.” She narrowed her eyes. “This is now mine. I’m going to storm out of here in this.”

“There’s a main control that can detach you from it.”

She pouted and pressed on the red button.

The lock mechanisms on the exoskeleton whirred and retracted the straps holding her in place. “Feels like Transformers.”

Seth laughed softly and held a hand out. “You’ve seen a lot of movies.”

“But not Star Wars.” She put her right hand into his before hopping off the raised platform where the exoskeleton stood.

Seth tightened his grip. Did she not realize that she was still in stilettos?

“Is there really a main control to cut off a rogue user?” she asked.

“No, but clearly that should be on the roadmap before the launch.”

Clary nudged him with her elbow. “Do I get credit for that idea, then?”

“No.”

“You’re mean.” She looked back at the exoskeleton. “This is amazing.”

“We’re trying to make it more intuitive.” Seth shut off the exoskeleton. “Instead of controlling it via a stick, we’re trying to make it sensitive enough to pick up neural impulses. That way, the exoskeleton will move as if it’s part of whoever is wearing it.”

Clary circled the exoskeleton, studying all the intricate wires across the prototype. She put her fingertip to the exoskeleton’s forearm and ran it along the smooth metal.

He wondered how it would feel like if she touched him that way.

Clary turned to him and blinked twice, seemingly waiting for a response.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your question.”

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