Page 195 of What We Burn

Odin considers us in turn. Thor. Loki. Me.

“Provisional operational status,” he says finally. “For the next assignment only. Full briefing. Planning. Field deployment. She moves with the team, follows the plan, and does not select or execute another target without authorization.”

“She won’t like that last part.”

“Her approval is not a condition of the assignment.”

“Neither is mine.”

“No.” His gaze hardens. “It isn’t.”

Loki settles deeper into his chair, delighted by the tension.

“Take her on your next assignment,” Odin says. “If she can follow orders and work inside the team, I’ll formalize the role.”

“And if she breaks the rules?”

Thor’s attention settles on me. “People who break our rules tend to go missing.”

Odin’s expression doesn’t change. “Make sure she understands that.”

Every muscle in my shoulders locks.

“Careful, detective,” Odin says. “That warning applies to all of you.”

I let that sit between us for two seconds longer than either of us enjoys, and I do what I do with every threat spoken in a quiet room by a man with resources, I memorize it. Word for word, time-stamped, filed with the location and who was present. If it ever needs to be actioned, I’ll have it verbatim.

Then Odin reaches for the thin folder on the table.

Rosaline Gable is printed across the tab.

“I couldn’t help noticing your report wasn’t particularly extensive.”

“There wasn’t much to report.”

“No?”

“Final-year nursing student. Works at the hospital. No record. No concerning associations. Debt she took on to qualify for a job that barely pays enough to clear it.” I keep my voice flat. “She took care of Sage. Stood up to me when I tried to move her before the transfer was ready. As far as I can tell, she’s a good person.”

Odin studies me. “That sounds remarkably like an argument.”

“It’s context.”

“It’s your opinion.”

“You asked me to investigate her. I did.”

His fingers rest on the folder. It is barely thick enough to justify the metal clip holding it together.

He knows exactly what I left out.

There are no photographs of her leaving the hospital. No list of friends, lovers, or places she goes when she isn’t working. No family history beyond the names required to prove she exists. I gave him enough to show I followed the order and nothing that would make it easier to drag a young woman into a world she has no reason to enter.

“If she’s so important,” I say, “why don’t you have Fenrir look into her?”

The room goes silent.

Odin sets the folder down.