Elijah
'Ask for the time,' Loki says. 'Make the task small and exact.'
"Tea," I say again. "After we get back. Your office or the greenhouse and no one else in the room."
Mother doesn't answer at once. She eats an apple slice and sets the plate where I can reach it without asking. "You love your pack," she says. "I can tell the difference between when you're being stubborn and when you're being loyal. This is both."
"It is," I say. "And I'm not asking you to bless anything today. I'm asking you to use the standard you use for everything else. Skill, conduct and plans that hold."
She blinks once like she heard her own line thrown back to her. "You noticed that the policy reads clean," she says.
"I did," I say. "Allison texted you to say so. She didn't have to."
Mother
