I really hadn’t been prepared for that, but I tried to keep my face composed. “Congratulations, Viggo. Please congratulate the new Tribeswoman for me.”
Viggo nodded, clearly unhappy that I was closing myself off from him. “Thank you, Domslut.”
I leveled my gaze at the chief. “What do you need from me?” I repeated.
The chief rested his fist on his table, standing over it like he expected to have to karate chop it in half like a cement block. “Very well. I do need help from you. Foss told me of your potion that lifted the curse last night. He confessed it was you who coerced the information out of Pesta before you both killed her, and that you took so long coming home because you were searching for all the ingredients for the cure.”
I raised my eyebrow at Foss, who stared resolutely away from me. “So you drank some? That’s everyone free of the curse, then?”
The chief shook his head. “Tomas and Viggo are freed, but Foss and I are choosing to stay the way we are. I’ve been ruling this nation with a level fist, and I won’t compromise that by going soft.” He ran his tongue over his teeth. “That being said, the nation is in flux now. What you’ve done, while we thank you, is causing shifts already. Three of my men have hanged themselves over the guilt of what they’d done under the curse.”
Tomas held up four fingers, and Foss held up one. Tomas of the Hills addressed me directly, which he rarely did. “If you could speak to the people, they’ll listen to you. They’ll follow what you say if you tell the women to forgive their men and leave the past in the past.” He slapped a paper on the table and slid it toward me.
I jerked my thumb to my face angrily. “Does this look like it’s in the past? Grow up! Take some responsibility.”
“Just look at what we’re proposing.” He motioned to the paper between us on the table.
I picked it up and read three lines before crumpling it up and throwing it in his livid face. “‘The men needn’t pay restitution for property damage, nor be held responsible for crimes committed while under the curse’? Are you friggin’ kidding me?”
“Foss, control your wife!” Tomas of the Hills fumed. “Some of the women want to leave their husbands now! What’s to stop them? My men won’t rely on force to keep their households in order anymore. It’s chaos!”
I tried not to unhinge my jaw and breathe fire on Tomas and his stupid Hills. Instead, I picked up the wadded paper on the floor, unfolded it and began writing on the back as I spoke. “You want me to tell the women who’ve been beaten, raped, traded, enslaved and made into nothing that their whole lives deserve no recognition because he wasn’t in total control?”
Tomas of the Hills nodded, but quickly saw the folly in this. “I only meant for you to encourage them to consider unification.”
Foss broke in. “Look, you’ve unleashed a change upon our entire island. All we’re asking is that you help us field the waves that come with that change.”
“Who’s we? Is that you? You’re asking me to stay?”
Foss’s voice quieted, his hands remaining motionless in his lap. “Yes, Lucy. You know I want you to stay.”
My upper lip curled in a snarl. “No.”
The chief’s head whipped to me. “Stay? Where else would she go? Of course she’s staying. Foss has his post back. Your house will be completed in a matter of days.”
I glared at the chief. “I have a kingdom of my own to turn on its head. I’m needed back home.”
The chief’s nostrils flared. “You’ll know your place and respect my rule. You’re a Tribeswoman. You can’t leave if your husband remains.”
“Friggin’ watch me. Do you really want me to let a world filled with Huldras go unchecked?”
The chief’s teeth ground together as he glowered at me and my valid points. “If you leave your husband, thousands of wives will do the same, especially with the curse lifting. The women will go unchecked and do as they please.”
“Like the men have been doing?” I asked, throwing my hands in the air. I took a breath and did my best to soften, knowing arguing with a pit bull wouldn’t get me anywhere. “Look, I appreciate the spot you’re in. I think it’s a mistake, you not taking the cure, but it’s your choice. But just like you, I’m needed in my world. You have to think up a better option than me abandoning my world so you can fix your mess.”
The chief gave me a curt nod and turned to Foss. “Any suggestions? You know her schedule on the Other Side. How much time can she spare for us? Can you at least keep your marriage up for a few years until the dust settles?”
Foss finally looked at me, meeting my eyes with utter devastation shining through. “Lucy’s free to do as she pleases. She wants to go to the Other Side? I say we let her go.” He looked defeated, and like he hadn’t slept at all. “We’ll tell the people the truth. She’s a queen on the Other Side, and her kingdom needs her. As often as she can, she’ll come visit her husband and his land, but we’ll live apart mostly.”
“I don’t like it,” the chief ruled. “It’s setting the stage for the women to leave their husbands.”
Viggo spoke up, his tone the even one of a ruler who had a bucketful of wisdom to bring to the table. “Then let them leave. Let us pay for our crimes. I can own up to mine. Let the men pay their debts and rise to the occasion. The ones that do will be stronger. The ones who can’t won’t have the tenacity to define our people, and they deserve to lose it all. Let the real men stand up for what’s right, for once. And let the women stand at all.”
I looked on Viggo with appreciation. “Spoken like one of the four powers I could actually ally my nation with. Well said.” I slid the paper I’d been scribbling on to the men. “We’ll call this my counter offer to the joke Tomas of the Hills wrote down for me to say. I’m no one’s parrot. These are my demands. If you want me to speak to the women, you won’t like what I have to say. I’ll tell them to stand, because it’s the first time they’ll be allowed to. Most won’t even know how. Best let me go to my home. I’ll be chaos on your soil.” I pointed to the paper. “New laws to help with your shifting world. My world’s based on many of these. Slave traders? Lock them up. No excuse for that.”
Tomas of the Hills spoke up. “But what about the curse? They can’t be held responsible.”
I banged my fist on the table, furious. “There’s no excuse for locking me in a birdcage so Olaf could feel me up!” My pointed gaze cut to my husband. “Foss, what did I look like when you found me in the cage in the slave dungeon?”
Foss closed his eyes. “I won’t speak of it.”
“Lock them up. Let them taste the air inside their own prisons. Rule two: servants in the four households get paid.”
“Paid what?” the chief asked, his nose scrunched incredulously.
I leaned forward in challenge, staring him down. “Paid money. And here’s my suggestion for your minimum wage.” I jabbed my finger to the paper. “You want commerce to pick up? Pay your people, you cheap jackholes. Quit sitting on your gold. It’s obnoxious. When CEOs in my world get paid millions while their grunt workers can barely scrape by, it’s bad for business and frankly, it’s irresponsible capitalism. And it makes the leader look like a butthole. You want people to follow your lead? Show you respect? Then lead by example. Show them respect. Pay them what they deserve.” I shook my head, wishing I didn’t have to spell it all out. “Your people should work for you because they want to better their homes, not because they have no other option. Don’t you understand the difference between forcing labor and having it gratefully earned? Give your people a chance to stand on their own, Dom. If you don’t, you’re letting your curse rule you, and your people aren’t oppressed like that anymore. They’ll revolt eventually.” I ran my hand over my face, inadvertently drawing their eyes to my starry skin. “You should take the cure if you want to keep up, otherwise your old rules will be overthrown as soon as the dust in this cowboy town settles.” I threw up my hands as if casting a magic spell. “Evolve, dinosaur!”
I held up one finger to pause them and poke my head out the door, grateful that I knew Tucker would eavesdrop. “Do me a solid and please get me a shot of Gar from last night’s party. Quick like a bunny, Tuck. Has to be from last night’s party. From the barrels they used. That’s the stuff with the cure for the curse in it. Hurry! Fastest you’ve ever moved.” I didn’t wait for his response, but returned to the men standing around the table.
I placed both palms on the table, facing the powerful men for the first time without a hint of fear. I recalled the women’s screams in the cell as one by one, they were sold off to depraved men. This was for them. “Let me tell you a little something about our Civil War. One race kept the other down, telling them how high they could climb and who they were allowed to be. It didn’t create a functional society. It created a powder keg that erupted in war and bits of anarchy that even the best peaceful leaders couldn’t always tame. If you can’t see your women as people, honor their struggles as they’ve been pushed down by the curse that was forced upon all of you, your country will go up in flames. I won’t stick around to watch that.” Then I leveled my gaze at the chief. “But I will light the friggin’ match with a smile on my sweet little face just to watch you burn in the mess you’ve ignored for way too long.”
The chief was equally angry and fearful of my moxie. He gripped the back of his chair as he tried to physically tower over me to compensate for the fact that he actually respected my rule.
My eyes met the chief’s, and I begged him to hear me. “Dom, if you give women equal status to men, you’ll double the usefulness of your nation. They’ll follow your rule because they love the man who freed them, not because they fear you. Fear only lasts so long as a motivator, but I’d follow the man I loved till the very end of it.”
Foss swallowed hard, meeting my gaze with an unfathomable expression that almost made me soften.
Tucker knocked lightly on the door, and I called him inside, thanking him as I took the shot and placed it in front of the chief. I moved around the table to stand next to the most powerful man in the land, and placed my hand on his. “You’ve been feared, and Olaf betrayed all you worked so hard to build. Try being beloved. Try caring about your nation who needs to be treated gently right now while they’re figuring things out.” I reached over and picked up the shot glass. “Your daughter deserves a dad who’ll fight for her, not a man who ignores her when she’s sold off into slavery, or beaten or raped.”
This stirred something up in the chief. “I can protect my household.”
I pressed the shot glass into his hand and molded his fingers around it. “You should be protecting all the households, not just yours. Aren’s world should be brighter than this. Look at my face! You should want more for her than this.” I implored him with my eyes as he looked at the scrape on my face. “Be more for us. Be more for her.”
Gently, slowly, I lowered the chief to his chair, stroking his arm and bringing his hand with the glass clutched in it to his lips. The siren blood on my hand glinted off the specks on his, and for a moment, our skin looked beautiful together. “Protect your daughters. Every single child on your island. Let that be your legacy.”
Everyone stiffened, and you could hear a pin drop as I tipped the glass to the chief’s lips, watching the Gar disappear into the man who most needed a good healing.
No one breathed as they waited for the chief’s reaction to being scolded and cajoled into doing the right thing. My heart banged in my chest, and when I met his eyes, I could see how much he hadn’t wanted to submit as he did.
The chief reached up and gripped my hand, clutching it in solidarity and warning me not to test him like that again. “Very well, Domslut. You shall have your peaceful kingdom, and I shall have mine.”
I kissed the chief’s forehead as he leaned his temple to my bosom, and he pressed his lips to my hand, uniting us as much as was possible.
22
Foss’s Right Hand
I curtsied, pretty sure that was something I was supposed to do at some point. “On that note, I’ll leave you to your world domination. Those are just a few notes on how my kingdom’s run. Happy to help answer any other questions you might have. I’m leaving with my brother and my Tom as soon as Foss is in his home, so plan accordingly, guys.”
On my way out, I felt a strong pull in my gut that stopped me short and knocked me back a few steps like I’d been pushed by an invisible force. Suddenly, I felt a heaviness and angst that was unrelated to my current state. I leaned on the doorframe, probably looking like I might pass out.
“Lucy?” Foss called to me. He was out of his chair in the next breath, his left hand touching my side.
I bit my lower lip as I straightened. “It’s nothing.” Foss followed me out of the room and shut the door, but I ignored him. “Tuck? Something’s wrong with Jamie. Could you go check on him?”
Tucker nodded, kissing my nose. “Sure. That was amazing, by the way. You really held your own in there. I’ll be back in a few.” With no further delay, he vanished, porting no doubt to the gate, and then running through to see Jamie and make sure he was alright.
Foss touched my hip again, and my anger burned against him anew. “Lucy, we need to talk.”
“Go ahead,” I said, and then promptly stomped away from him down the hall to our room, slamming the door shut in his face.
I thought somehow the lock would be foolproof, but Foss busted it with a swift shove from his sturdy shoulder. He shut the door behind him and watched me fume at being stuck in a conversation I didn’t want to have. “We have to talk.”
“No, we don’t. You said everything last night. And you know, I’d really rather not be in a room alone with you. You can’t control your temper, and I’m in the mood to piss you off.” I motioned to the door. “Get Jens or Linus in here, and you can talk all you want.”
He held his left hand up like he was on a cop show and I had a gun pointed at his chest. “I shouldn’t have hit you last night. It all happened so fast. But you shouldn’t have tried to dose me. I was clear on what I wanted. You should’ve respected me.”
“Is this your first apology?”
He pointed a frustrated finger at me. “If you don’t cool down, it’ll be my last. Now, sit down and tell me what you did to me. I need you to undo it.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “It worked? I only managed a few drops of the cure on my lips. You don’t look any different, but then again, you haven’t knocked me out yet today, so maybe the cure did work.”
Foss shook his head, exasperated with me. “Not that. My hand. Undo it.”
“Undo what?” It was then I noticed he’d done everything in the other room and here with his left hand. “What? Did my face bruise your hand when you hit me?”
“I’ll not apologize for that again!” he shouted. “You know what you did to my hand, so fix it! I can’t rule my territory as a cripple!”
My nose crinkled as I sat on the bed. “What the smack are you talking about? You’re walking just fine. How am I supposed to have crippled you?”
Foss’s anger shifted to confusion. “My other hand!” With his left hand, he lifted his right and flopped it around like it had no bones to hold itself steady. “I can’t do anything with it.”
“Huh. Weird. Is that why you called the doctor last night?”
“Of course! He said it was some kind of ancient elfin curse. You did it! I saw you do it, Lucy. When I…” He lowered his voice. “When I hit you, I saw a flash of lightning strike next to us, felt something burning inside my right hand, and then I couldn’t move it. Still can’t.”
Despite my anger at him, I motioned him forward, taking his limp hand in both of mine so I could poke and prod at it. It looked fine, and the joints seemed to be moving without any bones blocking the rotat
ion, but the hand was completely without strength or functionality. His right arm moved normally, but from the wrist down, it was useless. “Can you feel this?” I asked, pushing my finger into various points on his hand.
His voice was hushed when he worked out, “I can’t feel anything from my fingers up to my wrist.”
I took a chance and kissed his hand. “That?”
“Nothing!” He bordered on whining, and I could tell how freaked out he was. “Lucy, what did you do to me?”
“Me? You know I can’t access my powers. I wouldn’t even know the first step in concocting this… whatever this is.”
Foss let his veneer of coolness fall away completely and fell to his knees before me, unveiling the fear he’d been plagued with no doubt since he’d lost the use of his hand. He clutched both my smaller hands in his large left mitt, pressing the digits to his lips and kissing them with too much sincerity, too much emotion. “I take back every harsh thing I’ve ever said to you. I take back every time I pushed you around or hit you! I take it all back! Now undo it!”
I shook my head, utterly confused and a little overwhelmed at the turn of events. “I don’t even know what it is! I didn’t do this to you!”
“Somehow you did! You were the only elf anywhere on the island last night, except your brother, and he wasn’t even around when it happened!”
“Foss, I’m sorry! I don’t know what you think I’m capable of, but it’s not that. I can’t break your hand! Come on, now. It’s me! I wouldn’t do that to you. I was trying to heal you, not break you.”
He looked up at me with baleful eyes. “You always break me.” He examined his right hand, and I could tell he was trying to get it to move on its own, but it remained limp at his side. “No! I said I was sorry! I took it all back!” His eyes turned to me, wild in their defeat. “Give me back my hand!”
Linus at Large Page 15