Page 109 of Tracking Snow

Thank fae lords.

Usually Six sides with One and Seven.

I agree, I say. We aren’t touching Ariel.

Two exhales through us. I’m with them.

Relief pushes against my ribs, but I don’t let it out. One and Seven have led us for too long. They can still exert power over the rest of us if they decide to.

One says nothing.

That gets my attention.

One is always certain. Always two steps ahead. Always running calculations the rest of us don’t see.

Now he hesitates.

I… One starts.

The stumble moves through us like a crack in glass.

We look for another way. Another mermaid.

We all know the likelihood of that is so damn slim it’s near non-existent.

But for once, the rest of us have overpowered Seven.

For once, the consensus isn’t his.

Seven’s silence says enough.

He knows he’s outvoted. Outpowered.

For once.

This won’t end well, Seven says finally.

The relief dies in my throat.

Without Ariel, Mother doesn’t have what she needs. And when Snow finds out what we’ve done to her friends, that they can’t be helped even though they’ve been detained, she’ll never forgive us. Not like she would have if we had something to show for it. His voice lowers. We’re going to lose her.

I swallow hard, the victory already thinning as his words settle in. How long will Mother keep Snow’s friends before she lets them go? Before she decides this project matters less than her politics?

Can we convince her to release them now? They’d never let us near Snow again.

But that’s a problem for later. One thing at a time.

Tonight, after Snow’s shift, we get to see her again. Spend time with the person who’s come to mean more to us than almost anyone else.

Almost, Seven echoes.

Chapter 35

Moving in with My Flutterbun Girlfriend

SNOW

The apartment door sticks on the frame as usual, so I hip-check it open and stumble in on tired legs, already peeling off one boot.