Linus at Large

by Mary E. Twomey

  I filled in the gap. “Because your friends don’t dance, and if they don’t dance…”

  Jens screamed into his hands. “Kill me now!”

  Linus shook his head, and then said to me, “Your fiancé’s a drama queen. No joke, but if he doesn’t dance, he’s no friend of mine.”

  “Out!” Jens begged, pointing to the door. “If you say another word, I’ll beat you down, and they’re all about doing a good job healing people in this place, so it wouldn’t last as long as I need you out of this room right now!”

  “What’s wrong, Jens, old buddy?” Linus asked with feigned concern as Jens pushed him out the door. “You know, you can dance if you want to.”

  Jens shut the door in Linus’s face and turned to me, a wild expression of sheer frazzled nerves on him as he splayed his arms over the door to ensure it stayed shut. “Are you sure we really wanted him back from the dead? Like, super sure?”

  “I’m at like eighty percent unless he comes back with cookies. Then I’m at ninety.”

  “Liquid diet,” Jens reminded me.

  “I’ll accept cookies fresh from a blender.”

  Jens grimaced, and then softened, making his way to my bedside. “How are you feeling?”

  “How about you never ask me that, so I don’t have to keep telling you until the end of time that I’m fine?”

  “How are you feeling?” he repeated, moving to my bedside.

  I dropped the shtick. “I can’t feel much. Painkillers are my new best friend. Sorry you got dethroned so easily.” I reached out my hand to touch his for the simple soothe of human contact. Though, in all honesty only one of us was barely human. “Tell me what I missed.”

  “Me,” Jens answered. “You missed me.”

  When he leaned in to kiss me, I wanted to tackle him, but couldn’t really move much. The lower half of my body was numb because of the surgery I was still coming out of.

  Jens was a good man, and met me the rest of the way. His lips were warm, and that was all I needed to feel.

  “Tell me everything,” I said against his lips.

  32

  An Exchange of Rings

  “You what?” I screeched.

  Jens mimed the action with his thumb as he spoke. “Slit his throat. I can’t believe it took this long. I mean, dude’s tried to have me killed loads of times, but when you go after Jamie’s kid? My nephew? I’m done playing around.”

  “I can’t believe you actually killed Johannes. I mean, we sent over hundreds of elves and Grimens. How’d you get there first?”

  He scoffed. “That you doubt my prowess shows how little you know me, woman. I killed Johannes before he could say, ‘Jamie’s the king’, which, if he would’ve just done that, I wouldn’t have slit his throat.” He considered this, and shook his head. “Nah. I still would’ve done it. You should see Jamie. Got his face kicked in pretty good. Had to put off his coronation a few days so he could take the throne without looking like a horror flick extra.”

  My hand went over my mouth. “Oh, not Jamie! Is he okay? Who beat him? Why did he even go over there? He tricked Tucker, you know. Told Tuck to go check on me and ran over to Tonttu. Why?”

  “Jamie knew the baby was coming, and didn’t want to bring him into a world where he’d be constantly on the run, like you and Linus were. Simple as that. He took her to the Huldras, the baby came while Jamie was in jail, of course,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “But they took care of her. They whistled in a doctor the second Britta showed up on their doorstep. Jamie’s kicking himself for missing the delivery, but knowing his kid’s not going to have to worry about Johannes and the family coming after them? It was worth it. Though, I’m not sure how he’ll make that up to Britta.”

  “Is she pissed?”

  “No. She’s in love with her husband and the baby, but I’m pissed on her behalf, so he’ll do a fair amount of groveling from his newly acquired throne.”

  “Good big brothering,” I commended him. “What about Tucker?”

  “He’s here in the hospital, just down the hall. Had emergency surgery to repair the internal damage. He also had a broken leg. Tuck was busted up in too many places to count. We’re lucky we got him here when we did.” Jens glossed over the details of Tucker’s injuries, so I knew he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

  “Will he recover?”

  “One hundred percent. He’s been doing nothing but asking about you and worrying about getting back to Jamie. And smoking his cigars, you know, in a hospital. He’s not so popular here.”

  I exhaled my relief that Tucker would survive. “What else did I miss?”

  Jens played with my fingers. “Foss’s hand is still busted. He’s here, actually. Doctors don’t have much hope it can be repaired.”

  “I killed the chief by accident,” I admitted, my voice quiet. “Well, Havard did. Or his essence or whatever.”

  “I know. Foss told me. I explained the protection Havard put in you.”

  “How’d he take it?”

  “Upset. Broke a chair with one hand. Hard to do, but not for him, apparently. Now he’s sulking. I’m sure he’ll be up here soon with his tail between his legs.”

  “I didn’t want to cripple him.” I closed my eyes in shame. “I never wanted to hurt Foss, but that’s all I ended up doing. Things ended so crappy with him. He deserved better.”

  “So long as there’s an ending, I’m fine with it.” Jens crossed his arms over his chest, inhaling sharply. “Foss hit you. Havard’s protection was wired to snap when you were attacked. Foss attacked you. He gets what he gets, in my opinion. Same with the chief.”

  My heartbreak was plain on my face. I decided to change the topic. “How are the Tomten feeling about Jamie?”

  Jens laced his fingers together behind his head and stretched, showing off his toned belly when his dark shirt inched up his abdomen. “Tonttu’s overjoyed. The other two tribes are still reeling. Jamie’s plan is to appoint three judges to rule over the three regions, and then those judges report to him. That way the nation’s unified, but they still have a bit of freedom and identity. It’s a good plan. We’ll see how they take it. Most of them are just glad they can return to their homes. Jamie took all the land Johannes had been stealing and gave it back to the people. The only thing he owns now are the palace and his house in Tonttu. Plus, you know, his house out here, which he gave to us to live in until our place is rebuilt.”

  My heart jerked inside of me at the thought of being able to go home. To my house. Ours.

  “Once things are settled,” Jens continued, “I was hoping Linus could have Jamie and Britt’s house, and we could move back to ours. That way he’s not far, but we have a little space, and he has his.”

  “But what would we do with all that space? All that freedom?” I teased, pretending to think up an evil plan.

  “Oh, we’ll think of something devious, I’m sure.”

  I cleared my throat and wondered when the last time I’d had a glass of water was. “Could I have something to drink?”

  “I think that fits in the liquid diet standards.” Jens moved to the tray that was just behind my bed and to the side, so it was a little out of reach. He poured a glass, but what he put in my hands wasn’t water.

  It was a box. It was a small square box.

  I knew this box. I’d seen it in every romantic comedy where they run off into the sunset together in the end. I’d seen it in many a man’s hand in movies when he got down on bended knee.

  I’d never seen it in Jens’s hand before, though. Let me tell you, it’s a beautiful thing to see the life you never knew you wanted presented to you in a neat little box that’s yours for the taking. When the man you love’s holding that box? So much the better.

  I opened it and saw a ring that took my breath away. The diamond was square, the band was white gold, and the choice was mine.

  I hadn’t been given many choices in life, least of all lately. I’d been jerked around so many times that being presen
ted with a choice that was all mine to make felt like a luxury I wanted to roll around in and take my time with. I pulled the ring out of the box and slid it onto my finger, marveling at the strangeness that looked totally freaky on my hand, and yet somehow perfectly right.

  “Jens?” I whispered.

  “Yeah, baby?” His voice was quiet and filled with insecurities that I’d put there by being so indecisive. “Did you want it to look different? Linus said you’d want a smaller diamond, but it just felt like skimping, and I didn’t want to start out with giving you less.” His words rushed out of him, piling on top of each other as they spilled out. “I can get you a different one, if you like. Or you don’t even have to wear it if it’s freaking you out. You’ve got that look.” He shook his head. “I freaked you out. It’s too much. I’m pushing you. I didn’t mean to. We can wait till you’re out of the hospital and talk then.” He reached for the box.

  I did something so uncharacteristic, it surprised us both. I slapped my fiancé’s hand. “Hey, that’s mine!”

  “The box?”

  “Yes! The box and the ring. They’re mine, and I want to keep them. Stop taking my stuff.”

  Jens’s face shed the fear he’d been burdened with and let loose a no-holds-barred grin. “I bought it. I can take the box if I good and well feel like it. Maybe I want to keep troll teeth in it. I used to have a pretty decent collection going.”

  I bit my lip, breathless at the very permanent thing we were doing when he kissed the engagement ring on my finger like a true gentleman. I’d never known permanence like Jens, but I wanted to. Jens leaned down to compensate for my limited mobility, and kissed me. My very first official kiss as his fiancée. It was tender, and laced with all the things we’d survived to get us to this point.

  When the heartrate monitor started picking up, Jens pulled back and shifted my pillows so I was laying more comfortably. “We can do all sorts of things to make your heart explode when you’re back on your feet.”

  “Promise?” I examined the cube and shifted the conversation. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long. I shouldn’t have put you through that.”

  Jens was quiet for a few beats. “No, you shouldn’t have. But I get it.”

  As if on cue, a knock that was too high up on the door to be a nurse interrupted our conversation. Jens let Foss in, slapping him on the shoulder as he ducked in through the doorway and shut it behind him. “I need to talk to you,” Foss said without a greeting.

  “Alright. I’m clearly not going anywhere, so what’s up?” I motioned to the chair by my bedside for him to sit in.

  “Do you mind?” Foss asked Jens rudely.

  Jens quirked an eyebrow at him. “Actually, I do mind. You hit my charge, so I can’t leave you alone with her.”

  I bit at my nails as I waited for Foss to say his piece. He was flustered at having to debase himself in front of Jens, so it took him a few seconds of starting and stopping before he got it all out. “We got Jamie out and Jens killed Johannes. Our men took out the rest of his family and the palace advisors, so you don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

  I nodded, but didn’t speak. I sensed he had more, and when Foss was flustered, I knew from experience not to rush him.

  “I cleaned up your blood, so no one saw it. Your secret’s still safe, and I blamed the chief’s death on Johannes. Told Kristoffer one of his men ported the chief to the battlefield, and he was ported back dead. There were hundreds of elves on the field, so no one’s questioning it for now.”

  “What about Aren? What’s going to happen to the chief’s household?”

  “Same thing that happened to my household when they thought I was dead. It’ll get divided up between the powers until a suitable replacement is found. Aren and her mother are staying with me for now. She’s… she’s emotional. I don’t like it.”

  “I am shocked to hear that,” I deadpanned. “Be kind to her.”

  Foss cast me a disparaging glance. “I’ll never understand your culture’s insistence on kindness.”

  “The things you don’t understand never cease to amaze me.” I chewed on my nails as I spoke. “Send Erika in to spend time with her. Girlfriend could make anything bearable.”

  Foss nodded, taking my instruction to heart. “Jens told me about Havard. You should’ve told us.”

  I didn’t argue, but simply focused on my nails. “I’m sorry I broke your hand. I’m real sorry about the chief. I have no control over it. Honest. I would never hurt you like that, or kill your mentor on purpose.”

  “I know.” Foss stared at his hand, and I could tell he was willing it to move. “I don’t want to talk about it. I came up here to tell you a couple things, and then I’m going back to my people. First thing is that Tomas of the Hills, Viggo and I are issuing a pass for the women for one year in light of the curse being lifted. Many of the wives were forced into their marriages, so for one year, they can decide to leave and start over without threat of being stoned. After that, business as usual.”

  My eyes widened at the giant leap that was, and the long road it had taken to get there. The women were free.

  So was I.

  I slipped the rope from around my neck and humbly handed the ring back to Foss, wishing Jens wasn’t here to watch every detail of the painful moment. “Then this belongs to you. For what it’s worth, thank you for marrying me. You probably saved my life, and I know you didn’t want to do it.”

  Foss nodded, examining the ring before he removed the leather string. “Help me?” he asked, and I knew he despised himself for the weakness.

  “Of course.” I slid the gold onto his finger and watched as he flexed his good hand.

  “Okay, then. You’re ending it?”

  I nodded, unable to look at him. “I have to. You need to take that ring and wait for someone you’re madly in love with, and who you never want to hit. Pick a woman you can respect. One who’s kind and who works hard to make your life better.” I quieted, my next words escaping me in a rush. “I’m sorry I made you think that girl was me. She’s not. She’s out there for you, but I’m not her. You never hit the girl you love. And the right girl won’t be selfish with you, like I was.”

  Despite our silent audience, Foss touched his finger to my chin and angled it so I had to look at him. In his hard and steady gaze, I saw the things he wanted to say to me, but would never admit aloud.

  I saw that he loved me, but I still knew it wasn’t enough. “I know,” I whispered.

  Foss stood with a look of resolve on his grim face. Using only his left hand, he pulled a flask out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Unscrew the cap. I can’t manage it.”

  “Sure.” I did, and then handed it back to him. “Does your hand hurt?”

  He shook his head. “This is some of the Gar from the feast night. I thought you should see me drink it with your own eyes. I still think it’s the wrong choice, but after everything, I owe you that much.”

  I had nothing in my heart for him except admiration as he finally took an active step to better himself for the greater good. He watched me watch him as he drank a healthy few gulps from the flask.

  My heart swelled with real live hope for him and his future. I wanted that for him – a chance at a good life. “Thank you. You’re doing a good thing.”

  He pursed his lips, bracing himself against the cure that was now flowing through his body, changing atoms and shifting molecules slowly back to their proper order. I knew the full effect wasn’t immediate, but I could see something changing in him by small degrees. “This feels amazing. This is what you feel all the time? No crushing pressure to conquer, to snap, to fight? Life feels so much easier now.”

  “That’s the thing about a curse lifting. You feel lighter. Come here.” I pulled him down and wrapped my arms around his shoulders as best I could manage without pulling too hard on my stitches. “I’m so proud of you,” I whispered.

  “I love you,” he said, tickling my ear with the thing I knew I shouldn�
�t love hearing anymore. “With or without my curse, that stays constant.” He stood and handed the flask back to me so I could screw the lid on, and then he gasped. “What is that?” he demanded, pointing to my finger.

  I wished for the Tomten gift of invisibility. “Um, it’s a ring. Jens asked me to marry him.”

  “And you said yes,” Foss stated, his tone cross. “You’re getting married. You had my ring on your neck, and Jens’s on your finger.”

  I glared at his attitude. “Yes. I’m a big, giant whore.”

  The cure took time to work, but I wished it was instantaneous. “I’ll tell the people you’ve decided to live on the Other Side permanently, then. I take it you won’t be back to visit?”

  Jens answered for me. “She’s never setting foot in Undraland as long as I’m alive. We’re moving back to our house, so if you want to visit us, that’s where we’ll be.” Then Jens presented his hand to Foss – an offering of a truce before they parted ways.

  Foss stood, looking a combination of surly and lost. “Fine. Goodbye, then.” He shook Jens’s hand, surprised when Jens pulled him in for a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I hate you so much right now,” Foss grumbled. “Get off me!”

  Jens didn’t let go, but hugged Foss until it looked almost painful. When he finally spoke, it was through gritted teeth and laced with masculine emotion that choked me. “I promise you right now that I won’t touch a drop of lavender powder for the rest of my life. I know how much you love her, and I swear to you I’ll keep her safe. Every day, I’ll try harder to be good for her so you never have to worry if she’s still alive.” He closed his eyes. “I’ll guard your treasure with my life, brother.”

  It took Jens’s stubbornness in not letting go for Foss to finally wrap his left arm around Jens, closing his eyes as he gave in to the brotherhood he’d tried so hard not to need. “Then I won’t stand in your way anymore.”

  After one more tight squeeze that brought tears to my eyes, they parted. Foss turned to me, combed his fingers though my hair, and leaned down so he could kiss me one last time. It was a closed-mouth farewell that I refused to feel guilty about. Then Foss pressed his lips to my hair and whispered, “Goodbye, Lucy. You were a lovely wife.”