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He looks at me and gives another light shrug. “I don’t know the man, but if what you say is true, if you’re happy and safe, then I suppose I have to take your word for it.”
“Does it count if I say she also makes me very happy?” I say, and Hanna shifts beside me, shooting me a warm smile.
“Hanna would make any man happy,” he says proudly. “She’s the catch here, and don’t you forget it. Tuoni, was it?”
“That’s correct.”
“Curious name,” he says. “Being named after the God of Death.”
I smile at him. “That’s the thing, Torben. That’s the very thing I want to talk to you about. That’s the thing I want you to remember.”
He stiffens in his chair. “What?”
I close my eyes and give my head a small shake. “I should have enjoyed having you as a father-in-law who doesn’t want to kill me just a little longer.”
“There’s still time,” Hanna says quietly, and I feel her hand on my arm.
“You know there’s enough lies in your family already,” I tell her.
Then I sigh and start chanting under my breath, a quick incantation, a fast unraveling of a spell. I can feel it working when the darkness inside me begins to spin, and I have to open my eyes to steady myself.
I’m already tense, poised to fight, even though Torben has never been much of a threat. So far.
He’s staring at me, mouth slowly hanging more open as his eyes get wider. He gasps, his hand at his chest, and then he tries to move back so fast, the chair topples over backward, depositing him on the floor.
“Papa!” Hanna cries out, the tea spilling as she gets to her feet and runs over to him.
“Hanna!” he yells from a heap on the floor, hidden by the chair. “Run, Hanna! Run while you have the chance!”
He staggers to his knees and tries to push her along, but she stands her ground and holds him back at the shoulders.
“Papa, it’s okay. I’m fine. It’s fine.”
“No, Hanna,” he says in terror. He turns to look at me, and I remain as impassive as I can possibly. “He’s here. He has come for you.”
“I’m not here for her, old man,” I say to him. “We’re here for you.”
“Please,” she says, giving him a shake until he looks at her. “Everything is fine. I am fine. Neither of us are in any danger right now, I promise. Just please sit down and let everything come back to you. Let it sink in so we can explain what’s happening to us, why we both need your help.”
He blinks at her, mouth agape, and she squeezes his shoulders, imploring him with her eyes. Finally, he nods once, and she lets go of him. She rights his chair back up and then makes him plop down in it.
Torben looks across at me now, totally stunned.
And where moments earlier I saw a man who was only merely suspicious of my intentions, I now see a man who completely hates me.
And I can’t blame him one bit.
“Torben,” I say gently.
“Tuoni,” he says in a rough scowl. His eyes flash, like he suddenly remembers something, and he jumps up to his feet, but Hanna is still hovering over him, pushing him back down.
“Stop,” she says to him. “Just listen while we explain what’s happening.”
He looks to her, his expression falling. “My darling girl, you gave up your life to save mine. You freed me from his prison.”
“I did,” she says to him with a heartbreaking smile. “And I would do it again in a second. But you need to know that everything that has happened since has turned out fine.”
More or less.
