CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO - ARCTIC JOURNEY

Arryk looked up from where he was checking their supplies. "Rushing in the Arctic is a death sentence, Freya. You know that." "And dawdling isn't?" Freya retorted. "Every day we waste out here is another day Ethan slips away." Erik stood up, his face a mask of barely contained anger. "You think I don't know that? He's my brother, Freya. I'm doing everything I can." "Are you?" Freya challenged, stepping closer to Erik. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're more concerned with cuddling your girlfriend than finding the cure." Anna felt her cheeks burn, partly from embarrassment, partly from indignation. "That's not fair, Freya," she said, rising to stand beside Erik. "We're all doing our best here." Freya turned her icy glare on Anna. "Our best might not be good enough. And some of us," she said pointedly, "are more of a liability than an asset." "That's enough!" Arryk's voice boomed, silencing them all. "This bickering will get us nowhere. We need to work together