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“Well if we know they’re coming before the moon, we could set a trap,” Ares suggests, swiping a hand over his chin. “If we take them out, then there’s no need to cancel the run.”
“If we cancel the run, everyone will know why, after what just happened in Denver,” Archer mutters. “They’ll panic.”
I stroke my thumb against Sloane’s thigh, contemplating the best course of action. “We need to make a recommendation to the council,” I say. “Either cancel the run now or wait to make the call until we’ve handled the threat.”
“Should we take a vote?” Avery asks, glancing around the table. “All in favor of cancelling the run now?”
Me, Sloane, Archer, and Tristan raise a hand, and I can already see how this is going to go.
“Those in favor of waiting?”
Iver, Ares, Lo, and Avery cast their vote for the second option, which leaves us at an impasse.
“It’s a tie,” she announces.
Normally, we’d discuss again and re-vote, but before we can move in that direction, Ares speaks up.
“Well technically it’s not a tie,” he points out. “Sloane hasn’t been initiated yet.”
I brush him off with the wave of a hand. “That’s just a formality.”
“You said yourself that she doesn’t get a vote until she’s initiated,” Ares challenges.
Of course he’d bring that up, the little shit.
No doubt it’s because without Sloane’s vote, the decision would tip in his favor.
“What’s the initiation?” Sloane asks, leaning forward on my lap and peering back at me. “I mean, I should just do it, right? You all did.”
I shake my head with a frown. Suddenly, I don’t want her to do it. Because I know what the initiation entails, and I don’t want to put her through that, especially not now.
Before, I insisted on her being initiated because I thought she’d chicken out, and thus the issue of her insisting on taking her place in squad leadership would take care of itself. Now it’s come back to bite me in the ass.
Thanks, Ares.
“Just tell me what it is,” Sloane presses when nobody speaks up, sweeping her gaze around the table.
“We can’t,” Avery grinds out, sliding me a glance that says she’s just as hesitant about this as I am.
“You don’t learn what it is until the initiation itself, that’s part of it,” Iver provides.
We were young when we came up with the whole initiation thing. It was just for fun at the time- we were a bunch of teenage thrill seekers looking for a way to up the stakes, and that’s what we landed on.
“Is this really necessary?” Tristan groans, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
Guess the two of us can still agree on some things.
“Hey, you guys are the ones who insisted it’s a rite of passage,” Ares huffs. “I had to do it…”
“I already said I’d do it,” Sloane sighs, shifting her weight on my lap. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it right now.”
She sounds a little too eager.If only she knew.
Avery slides me a glance, chewing on her lower lip, and knowing what she’s seeking, I give her a subtle nod in assent.
“Fine,” she declares, speaking for both of us. “We’ll hold off on cancelling the run, and in the meantime, we’ll work up a plan of approach to the hunter situation and get Sloane initiated. Are we all in agreement?”
“When?” Ares asks, his eyes lighting up as he rubs his palms together eagerly. “Are we gonna throw a big party after, like usual?”
