Dead Wrath by T. G. Ayer Page A

expressed any negativity toward Aidan joining the group, and I was glad he hadn't given me a hard time too. Aimee I could handle. Joshua would be that much harder.
    I was about to speak when an einherjar entered the room and had to skid to a stop to prevent himself from crashing into me. I caught him by the elbow and stared at his flushed face, concerned. He was about to speak when he saw Brody and did a double take before he glared at him. Brody flushed, his skin darkening with the rush of color to his cheeks.
    Nobody needed to explain anything to me. One look at the two warriors told the whole story clearly enough. Brody had escaped to join us. Which meant he'd lied to me, in front of the whole team.
    I patted the warrior on his shoulder. "Thank you, einherjar. You may leave now."
    He looked at me, then glanced at his charge. "But--"
    I held up a hand. "Don't fret. He will be returned to you soon enough. He just has some responsibilities to fulfill." The warrior hesitated, but the look on my face convinced him to leave without another word.
    When he was gone, I turned my attention to Brody. Seemed the other who knew him were equally disappointed in him, because before I opened my mouth, Aimee said, "You know, we get how much you want to join us and be part of the team, but lying isn't the way to go." He hung his head, staring at the stone floor.
    "How can we trust you now?" I asked softly.
    His head shot up, his eyes landing on my face. "I'm so sorry, Bryn. I just wanted to join the team."
    I sighed. "You do realize this lie could have potentially killed someone on our team?"
    He stuttered, "But how...? This is one of the best teams in Asgard."
    "That may be true, but only when we are at our strongest. You would have introduced a weak link into our team, a link we would have been ignorant of until it mattered. Whatever we say when we are out there--never leave a man behind, it's team or nothing--none of that matters if we don't have full honesty within the team."
    He looked at the ground again. "I'm really sorry. I guess I didn't think about the consequences."
    "You're telling me," snapped Joshua, his face revealing to poor Brody how much he'd disappointed him.
    But I didn't want to draw this out too long, especially since Brody had had the best of intentions. I cleared my throat. "Just before we leave, I want to introduce you to a few additional team members." I beckoned Myst and the Ulfr who stuck beside her. They'd spent much of their time in the room to themselves, and I chided myself for not introducing them earlier.
    "So this is Myst, and this is Edrik, who will be my Ulfr partner. Edrik will be joining our team permanently, while Myst will be supporting me in overseeing our efforts. Myst will remain behind as our point of contact." Myst smiled at the gathered members, and Edrik gave a small bow, then proceeded to shake hands with everyone.
    I gave them a few minutes to chat, then said, "Right, people. Let's grab our weapons and get ready to leave. I'll meet you all at NY HQ."
    Everyone trickled out the door, with even Enya bearing confidence in her step. The only one that lingered was Siri, and I knew why. I glanced at her. "Siri, you stick with me, okay? You'll find your feet sooner or later, but for now, I want you to stay close. I'm not sure when I'll be needing your skills."
    Siri nodded and then helped as I closed and stacked files before storing them in the tall wooden cupboard that sat against one of the far walls.
    At last, with the place neat, we left the room and hurried to the transfer room.
    Once we entered, we were welcomed by the low heat of the fire that blazed in the middle of the room. All around us were hooks on the walls and boxes on the floor. Hooks were for furs and cloaks that were left behind on a mission. Boxes were for weapons that were delivered to the transfer room by the Huldra or respective servants of the Valkyries, warriors, and Ulfr.
    A few Huldra lurked about, ready to help their