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i_read_whatSo we've made it to the second "part" of Daughter of the Lion, and I have to say that Ms. Roberson has improved tremendously in terms of pacing. When I stop and think about the first eleven chapters of this book, I realize that I don't think that much has actually happened. But I don't actually feel like the story has dragged.
I am curious as to where we'll go next though.
We start this chapter with a dude named Lio. Keely describes him very strangely:
Lio closed one pale eye as he screwed up his face in ferocious contemplation. It was a good face, young and boldly mobile, and without doubt better served by another expression for so a few of Aileen's Erinnish ladies had told me once or twice), but he paid little mind to the effect. I had made a request —no, extended an invitation—and he was considering.
He gets even more description, which is a little surprising:
Pale eyebrows lanced down. Lio is very blond and fair-complected, with eyes the color of water. Homanan-born and bred, but some say there is Solindish blood in him somewhere, going by his color; Carillon's Solindish wife, Electra, had identical hair and eyes, and Hart's Ilsa is as fair. As far as Lio or anyone else knows he is pure Homanan, but the jest is repeated often merely to ruffle his feathers.
...this is the level of description I'd expect for something who'll be a major character. I'll be honest, I don't remember this guy at all.
Anyway, Keely's trying to goad him into a sword-fighting lesson by the look of it. Lio is refusing, because Niall's forbidden it. So Keely tries to poke at his pride, claiming he's just trying not to lose to a woman. Per Keely, she and Lio are very similar in temperament so she thinks she'll get somewhere.
Lio points out that he's taller, heavier, stronger and has won "the Lady's favor" two years in a row at the fair.
Now THIS is interesting. Apparently, during Summerfair, Deirdre gives a length of "gold-freighted silk dyed bright Erinnish green" to one of the competitors. It grants supper at the High Table for a week during Summerfair. It's a treasured prize because it's a way for young men to catch the Mujhar's interest.
I like that Ms. Roberson has been finally filling out Homana as a cultural entity.
Keely's pretty resourceful when she wants:
Lio had indeed won the favor twice, and my father's interest was subsequently piqued. Clearly, Lio had no wish to risk losing royal favor by going against the Mujhar's orders; neither did he wish to lose my favor. Because, after all, I too could pique the Mujhar's personal interest. Certainly more often than once a year during Summerfair.
Sometimes entirely too often.
I've got some mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I like her using what she gets. But it does kind of seem like an abuse of privilege.
She continues to lean on the idea that they'll never know who really will win. Then shifts the terms slightly by suggesting they contest to see if battle CAN be joined.
Basically she challenges him to a race to the wall and back, if she wins, she gets the match she wants. I have no idea why Lio goes along with it, but okay. He's on board.
They race, Lio beats her to the wall, but Keely is unbothered. She tells us that her brothers would have known better, and indeed, Hart invented the game. Basically, she turns into a hawk and flies past him to win.
...that seems like cheating. And I've got the same mixed feelings as before. Keely IS resourceful and there's nothing innately wrong with using what she has, especially as she has legitimate disadvantages.
I think I'm being unfair to Keely, but it kind of goes part and parcel with the idea that Keely is the ONLY woman we meet with these ambitions. And she's royal. And she's got special powers. And it still feels like there's a thread in the narrative that Keely deserves these things because of said royalty and special powers. What about other women?
Keely's victory here doesn't really show us anything about her actual ability. It shows us that she can cheat with the unique powers that she has. But wouldn't it have been more satisfying if we were told that Keely trains to run every day and uses her smaller size to dive past him to get the victory?
We'd get to appreciate her efforts more and it's fairly believable. Running is not one of those skills that necessary requires someone to be big and powerful. And it's something she could train on her own.
Anyway:
He was only a little out of breath, and mostly from the shock. "You—you said—" He paused and tried again. "You said a race, lady!"
"It was. To the wall and back." I raised disingenuous brows. "No one required it to be on foot."
He sucked in wind to protest again, thought back over what we had said, realized I had caught him. No indeed, no one had specified a. footrace. Merely a race.
Eh, that's bullshit when your opponent can't transform. I actually side-eye the idea of Hart inventing this trick, because Hart, for better or worse, is a gambler. I find it hard to believe he'd cheat.
Lio goes along with it though, and goes to get his sword. Keely gets hers:
My own blade, sheathed, lay on the bench beside the door, covered by Lio's doublet. I unearthed it, unsheathed it, admired the clean sleek line of blade in the sunlight. It had been made for me specifically, not ground down from a man's blade, which meant the balance was perfect.
Such a magnificent thing, the sword. I wondered, as I had countless other times, why the Cheysuli disdained it so, refusing to learn its use. Tradition, again; clan-born warriors felt men should fight face to face, and very close, instead of at the greater distance a sword provided. It had something to do with pride and skill; the belief that a man should taste the strength of his opponent, and his blood, in order to make the fight truly honorable. For the same reason the bow had originated for hunting, not battle, but Shaine's qu'mahlin had perverted its use.
Yet tradition changed, if slowly. Now Cheysuli born to the House of Homana learned the sword, and had ever-since my grandsire, Donal, inherited Carillon's broadsword with its massive pommel ruby. Even though my own father had given the sword to the Womb of the Earth on Donal's death, the legacy survived. My father and my brothers had learned the art of the sword, and its strength. Certainly its beauty. So had I.
And would go on learning it, regardless of my father.
Okay, so this is a really good monologue. But it raises a rather important question for me.
Who made this sword?
Keely says it was made for her. We know that Niall doesn't approve of her sword-fighting because her lack of size. Who made it and when and why?
I feel like this is a fairly significant question. Did someone commission it for her? If so, who? Corin? Ian? I think it's worth knowing, because if it's Corin, that might go a long way in making their relationship seem a lot less one-sided. I'm still not quite okay with Corin laughing at her fear of marital rape and forgetting to talk to Sean or Liam about her position. If Ian, that'd strengthen that relationship.
Did Keely buy it herself? If so, where did she get the money? Did she trick someone or win a bet? I think that'd be worth knowing about too. I want to see Keely show off her determination and drive in ways that anyone can do. Not just cheating by shapeshift.
Also, Keely's kind of a bitch here:
Lio returned with his sword. He saw me with mine, sighed, shut one eye again. "If he learns of this, I will be stripped of my rank."
"You have no rank," I pointed out.
My words put color in his face and prickles in his tone. "If I win the favor again this year, the Mujhar must make me an officer. It is well known. The Mujhar rewards excellence—in duty and swordskill."
Dude's doing you a favor. You don't need to be a jerk.
They start, but end up interrupted by someone "whose mere presence was enough to stop the bout before it even began".
It's not Niall, but it's someone "just as bad". Brennan. Ah, my favorite becomes the sexist adversary time. Okay, let's see what Roberson does with this.
I like the intro:
He calmly crossed the bailey at a pace eloquent in its idleness. Sunlight struck slashes of light from the heavy lir-bands on bare arms. He wore Cheysuli leathers dyed black, as he often did; Brennan says he merely prefers unremarkable colors, but I think he knows perfectly well the color, on him, is dramatic: black leathers, black hair, dark skin, yellow eyes. He is not Homanan handsome, as Corin is or our father had been before Strahan's hawk had taken an eye, but all Cheysuli, with classic Cheysuli looks.
Some might call such looks too bold, too fierce, too arrogant. Too feral for their tastes.
Others might recall the magnificence of a mountain cat in motion; the stoop of a hawk after prey. And know better.
I like knowing my favorite is hot. Sue me.
So the start isn't terrible:
Brennan smiled. I frowned.
"Disobeying jehan's orders?" he asked cheerfully. "Aye, well, you would hardly be Keely if you did not."
Lio muttered again. Crossly, I told him to go back inside the guardroom if he could not bear to face the Prince of Homana, who was not precisely his liege lord; not yet, and in no imminent danger of becoming so, since the Mujhar was in significantly excellent health . . . which meant, I pointed out, Brennan could hardly censure Lio for transgressions not yet committed, and likely not to be committed, now, since Lio was sheathing his sword.
You still don't need to be a bitch to Lio, Keely. Brennan could probably make his life miserable even unofficially. I mean, to be fair, I don't think it'd be in character. And Keely probably knows that too. But Lio might not.
Keely accuses Brennan of being sent by Niall. He says no, and is uncharacteristically unconcerned with what their father might think of her behavior. Per Keely, he's not a "talebearer" but he's "hardly reluctant to point out failings in comportment if he thought it warranted".
Yeah, that tracks. Heh, he's my favorite, but he'd be so annoying to have as a sibling.
And his demeanor here really is interesting:
"May I?" Brennan asked.
I gave the sword into his keeping, waiting suspiciously.
Brennan tested the weight, the balance, examined the blade itself. Nodded thoughtfully, then glanced past me to Lio. And gave my sword to him. "Would you sheathe it and tend it for the lady? We are going riding, and have no need of swords."
I have to give Roberson credit for tone here. Because both Keely and I are waiting with some tension to see what he's going to do.
As he leads a protesting Keely off, he tells her that Aileen is improving and he'll be taking her to Joyenne for the summer. He thinks she'll enjoy the time away from reminders. Aidan won't be going yet, as he's a little too fragile, but Deirdre will tend him until he can join them. I'm not sure I agree that this will be less stressful for Aileen, but I have to admit that medieval royalty had different child-rearing practices than modern America.
And I'm giving Roberson credit in that I think this is more of a royalty thing (with the kids as much raised by extended family/servants as the parents) than bad writing.
He's inviting Keely to come along since he thinks Aileen might like the company as he's likely to get called back to the city for duties. Keely's on board, though she doesn't think he needed to interrupt the match for that.
And this is interesting too:
"Aye, of course ... I enjoy Joyenne—" I stopped walking. "Is that why you halted the match with Lio? To ask me this?" I sighed, biting back a stronger retort. "It might have waited, Brennan ... or did you do it in lieu of jehan?" Pointedly, I paused. "As you do so often."
He started me walking again. "I did not stop it because jehan has forbidden it. Such things as your behavior are your concern, not mine." My brother smiled blandly. "I came to ask you for your company, at Joyenne and now. I thought we could match my colt against the new gray filly."
...I'm a little nonplussed actually. I'm fairly certain that I remember Brennan being more of a sexist adversary at some point. Though not in a way that prevents him from being my favorite character. But I fully anticipate engaging in some variety of apologism at some point.
But I don't have to yet, apparently, and that's throwing me off. Memory is a strange thing.
Anyway, Keely freezes at the mention of the colt. And...wait, really? KEELY?
I get that Keely didn't want to tell Brennan about the colt when she first came back and Aileen was so fragile. But it's clearly been a while since then! You couldn't find ANY time to tell him his colt's been stolen?!
Oh, gods, not the colt— I stopped dead in my tracks. "Brennan—" But I broke it off, unable to tell him. ' Not so baldly. Not after so much time. I had lied. Now it had caught up to me, and I found I could not admit it.
...I mean, he's going to find out in like three seconds. And he's probably going to be upset. Kind of understandably!
Ahh. Here we go!
I opened my mouth. Shut it. Then shook my head. "No—I think another time. Not now. I—" I paused. "There is something else I must do. Another time, rujho."
"Now." One hand locked around my arm, held me in place, and he smiled all the while. "Keely, I have been to the stables. The colt is missing." His tone was calm, too calm. "The grooms say you came back from Clankeep without him."
Oh, gods. And without inflection, "Aye."
Brennan released my arm. His expression was carefully noncommittal, which made it all the worse. "You lied to me when I asked about him, Keely . . and now, when I give you a chance to explain what has happened, freely and without prejudice, you ignore the opportunity and create an empty excuse to leave." His tone hardened, as did his expression. "I want to know why. What have you done, Keely? What have you done now?"
Yeah, this is pretty warranted.
So Keely admits that she's ashamed. She starts to explain what happened. And to be honest, it really does sound kind of farfetched:
My belly twisted. I felt no better about the loss of the colt now than I had then. "I was tricked," I told him curtly, though my displeasure was for me, not for Brennan, who had a right to know. "Like a fool, I fell into a trap—first thieves who wanted my coin, then outlaws who—" I stopped short. I wanted to say nothing of Rory Redbeard and his Erinnish companions. Not yet. Not with things unresolved.
"Outlaws?" Brennan prodded. "Outlaws and thieves? Are they not one and the same?"
I shook my head. "I tried to get him back, Brennan. I did. I went back for him the next day, but Teir—"
I mean, I know it happened. I saw it as a reader. But just listed like that, it does seem pretty crazy. Then again, she's talking to a dude who came home, chatted with a wine girl, got drugged, restrained, tortured, and almost sacrificed in one night. So these people probably have a lot more tolerance when it comes to a litany of unlikely events.
Brennan definitely wants to know what happened with Teir, and Keely doesn't see any point to keeping it secret, though she tells us that she doesn't recount the entire meeting. Brennan would never understand as he has no doubts about his heritage or duty.
Or, you know, he might actually point out the idiot holes in your cousin's logic.
Roberson pulls a Robersonism here:
I saw no profit in keeping my meeting with Teirnan secret, since I had sworn no promises, nor had he asked any. And so I told Brennan freely. He listened intently as I recounted a little of my meeting with Teirnan, but not all. To Brennan, I could not; he would not understand. He had no doubts of his heritage, his duty, his tahlmorra. He would not tolerate any in me. Certainly he would not understand how I could even consider that our a'saii kinsman might have a valid point ... or two, or even three.
Which brought us back to the chestnut colt.
How does that bring you back to the colt?
(I really wish Roberson had given Teirnan a real argument. I can think of plenty, plenty that would be far more convincing then "oh we might lose our powers". The fact that Teir's nonsense even slightly sways Keely makes her look like a fucking idiot.)
Anyway, Brennan wants to go confront the thieves for the colt. This seems like a dumb idea, but I like Brennan more than I like Keely so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's been through a lot and this probably seems like something he can do something about.
I never claimed to be fair or reasonable in my critiques.
Keely wants to buy him another horse, but apparently the colt is special. Its father had died the day after the mare was bred. And Keely wouldn't have the coin to buy him, apparently Brennan almost didn't himself.
My temper deserted me. "A horse!" I shouted. "Not a woman, a child, a lir . . . gods, Brennan, you drive me mad—can you think of nothing else save your horses? What about Aileen? What about Aidan? What about me?"
"You," he agreed. "Aye, let me think about you; about why you stand here so afraid of showing me where outlaws tried to steal your coin, and perhaps your virtue—" It brought him up short. He stared, going gray around the mouth. "Gods, Keely—they did not—"
Keely has a point here, of course. It's ridiculous to risk oneself for a horse, no matter how valuable. I think this is a subtle indication that Brennan is still a bit out of sorts. I appreciate that he doesn't blame HER for what happened though. I had some worry.
And again, Brennan is the character concerned primarily with the threat of sexual violence as directed toward someone else. I wish that were not so remarkable in this series, but I'll grant Roberson that it's getting better. If nothing else, I appreciate how this book doesn't treat Keely's own fears as ridiculous either.
Keely asserts that they didn't, she had a knife, and manages to blurt out that they were Erinnish, a detail that Brennan is taken aback by.
My hands were fists. "Gods, Brennan, enough! Enough! I tried to get the colt back—I did try—but I could not. Does it matter who stole him? He is gone, gone—" I clamped hands against my head. "I swear, you will drive me mad—always asking questions!" I swung on my heel and walked away.
...yeah that's not obvious or anything.
Anyway, Keely tries storming away. Brennan grabs her arm. She turns into a bird, and he turns into a mountain cat and smacks her down. She challenges him, asking him if he wants to fight like cats, which actually would be interesting.
Instead he decides to "settle it like the Homanans do". He goes to the guardroom and claims both Keely's sword and Lio's from Lio. And comes back to challenge Keely to a fight.
You know what? When she's not calling him a rapist, I find their sibling dynamic honestly fascinating. They're so different but so alike in very strange ways. Keely of course doesn't see it. I'm not sure if Brennan does.
"Now," he told Lio, who found my sword and his own with admirable haste, and gave them both to Brennan, who thrust mine into my arms and pointed. "There. Let us see precisely how good you are." He paused. "Or are not."
"Brennan—"
He jerked Lio's blade free and threw the sheath to the bench. "Now, Keely. Not ten years from now—if your tongue and temper have not gotten you killed by then. Or, for that matter, by tomorrow."
"Ku'reshtin," I said calmly, and stripped my sword naked.
The chapter ends here.
I am curious as to where we'll go next though.
We start this chapter with a dude named Lio. Keely describes him very strangely:
Lio closed one pale eye as he screwed up his face in ferocious contemplation. It was a good face, young and boldly mobile, and without doubt better served by another expression for so a few of Aileen's Erinnish ladies had told me once or twice), but he paid little mind to the effect. I had made a request —no, extended an invitation—and he was considering.
He gets even more description, which is a little surprising:
Pale eyebrows lanced down. Lio is very blond and fair-complected, with eyes the color of water. Homanan-born and bred, but some say there is Solindish blood in him somewhere, going by his color; Carillon's Solindish wife, Electra, had identical hair and eyes, and Hart's Ilsa is as fair. As far as Lio or anyone else knows he is pure Homanan, but the jest is repeated often merely to ruffle his feathers.
...this is the level of description I'd expect for something who'll be a major character. I'll be honest, I don't remember this guy at all.
Anyway, Keely's trying to goad him into a sword-fighting lesson by the look of it. Lio is refusing, because Niall's forbidden it. So Keely tries to poke at his pride, claiming he's just trying not to lose to a woman. Per Keely, she and Lio are very similar in temperament so she thinks she'll get somewhere.
Lio points out that he's taller, heavier, stronger and has won "the Lady's favor" two years in a row at the fair.
Now THIS is interesting. Apparently, during Summerfair, Deirdre gives a length of "gold-freighted silk dyed bright Erinnish green" to one of the competitors. It grants supper at the High Table for a week during Summerfair. It's a treasured prize because it's a way for young men to catch the Mujhar's interest.
I like that Ms. Roberson has been finally filling out Homana as a cultural entity.
Keely's pretty resourceful when she wants:
Lio had indeed won the favor twice, and my father's interest was subsequently piqued. Clearly, Lio had no wish to risk losing royal favor by going against the Mujhar's orders; neither did he wish to lose my favor. Because, after all, I too could pique the Mujhar's personal interest. Certainly more often than once a year during Summerfair.
Sometimes entirely too often.
I've got some mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I like her using what she gets. But it does kind of seem like an abuse of privilege.
She continues to lean on the idea that they'll never know who really will win. Then shifts the terms slightly by suggesting they contest to see if battle CAN be joined.
Basically she challenges him to a race to the wall and back, if she wins, she gets the match she wants. I have no idea why Lio goes along with it, but okay. He's on board.
They race, Lio beats her to the wall, but Keely is unbothered. She tells us that her brothers would have known better, and indeed, Hart invented the game. Basically, she turns into a hawk and flies past him to win.
...that seems like cheating. And I've got the same mixed feelings as before. Keely IS resourceful and there's nothing innately wrong with using what she has, especially as she has legitimate disadvantages.
I think I'm being unfair to Keely, but it kind of goes part and parcel with the idea that Keely is the ONLY woman we meet with these ambitions. And she's royal. And she's got special powers. And it still feels like there's a thread in the narrative that Keely deserves these things because of said royalty and special powers. What about other women?
Keely's victory here doesn't really show us anything about her actual ability. It shows us that she can cheat with the unique powers that she has. But wouldn't it have been more satisfying if we were told that Keely trains to run every day and uses her smaller size to dive past him to get the victory?
We'd get to appreciate her efforts more and it's fairly believable. Running is not one of those skills that necessary requires someone to be big and powerful. And it's something she could train on her own.
Anyway:
He was only a little out of breath, and mostly from the shock. "You—you said—" He paused and tried again. "You said a race, lady!"
"It was. To the wall and back." I raised disingenuous brows. "No one required it to be on foot."
He sucked in wind to protest again, thought back over what we had said, realized I had caught him. No indeed, no one had specified a. footrace. Merely a race.
Eh, that's bullshit when your opponent can't transform. I actually side-eye the idea of Hart inventing this trick, because Hart, for better or worse, is a gambler. I find it hard to believe he'd cheat.
Lio goes along with it though, and goes to get his sword. Keely gets hers:
My own blade, sheathed, lay on the bench beside the door, covered by Lio's doublet. I unearthed it, unsheathed it, admired the clean sleek line of blade in the sunlight. It had been made for me specifically, not ground down from a man's blade, which meant the balance was perfect.
Such a magnificent thing, the sword. I wondered, as I had countless other times, why the Cheysuli disdained it so, refusing to learn its use. Tradition, again; clan-born warriors felt men should fight face to face, and very close, instead of at the greater distance a sword provided. It had something to do with pride and skill; the belief that a man should taste the strength of his opponent, and his blood, in order to make the fight truly honorable. For the same reason the bow had originated for hunting, not battle, but Shaine's qu'mahlin had perverted its use.
Yet tradition changed, if slowly. Now Cheysuli born to the House of Homana learned the sword, and had ever-since my grandsire, Donal, inherited Carillon's broadsword with its massive pommel ruby. Even though my own father had given the sword to the Womb of the Earth on Donal's death, the legacy survived. My father and my brothers had learned the art of the sword, and its strength. Certainly its beauty. So had I.
And would go on learning it, regardless of my father.
Okay, so this is a really good monologue. But it raises a rather important question for me.
Who made this sword?
Keely says it was made for her. We know that Niall doesn't approve of her sword-fighting because her lack of size. Who made it and when and why?
I feel like this is a fairly significant question. Did someone commission it for her? If so, who? Corin? Ian? I think it's worth knowing, because if it's Corin, that might go a long way in making their relationship seem a lot less one-sided. I'm still not quite okay with Corin laughing at her fear of marital rape and forgetting to talk to Sean or Liam about her position. If Ian, that'd strengthen that relationship.
Did Keely buy it herself? If so, where did she get the money? Did she trick someone or win a bet? I think that'd be worth knowing about too. I want to see Keely show off her determination and drive in ways that anyone can do. Not just cheating by shapeshift.
Also, Keely's kind of a bitch here:
Lio returned with his sword. He saw me with mine, sighed, shut one eye again. "If he learns of this, I will be stripped of my rank."
"You have no rank," I pointed out.
My words put color in his face and prickles in his tone. "If I win the favor again this year, the Mujhar must make me an officer. It is well known. The Mujhar rewards excellence—in duty and swordskill."
Dude's doing you a favor. You don't need to be a jerk.
They start, but end up interrupted by someone "whose mere presence was enough to stop the bout before it even began".
It's not Niall, but it's someone "just as bad". Brennan. Ah, my favorite becomes the sexist adversary time. Okay, let's see what Roberson does with this.
I like the intro:
He calmly crossed the bailey at a pace eloquent in its idleness. Sunlight struck slashes of light from the heavy lir-bands on bare arms. He wore Cheysuli leathers dyed black, as he often did; Brennan says he merely prefers unremarkable colors, but I think he knows perfectly well the color, on him, is dramatic: black leathers, black hair, dark skin, yellow eyes. He is not Homanan handsome, as Corin is or our father had been before Strahan's hawk had taken an eye, but all Cheysuli, with classic Cheysuli looks.
Some might call such looks too bold, too fierce, too arrogant. Too feral for their tastes.
Others might recall the magnificence of a mountain cat in motion; the stoop of a hawk after prey. And know better.
I like knowing my favorite is hot. Sue me.
So the start isn't terrible:
Brennan smiled. I frowned.
"Disobeying jehan's orders?" he asked cheerfully. "Aye, well, you would hardly be Keely if you did not."
Lio muttered again. Crossly, I told him to go back inside the guardroom if he could not bear to face the Prince of Homana, who was not precisely his liege lord; not yet, and in no imminent danger of becoming so, since the Mujhar was in significantly excellent health . . . which meant, I pointed out, Brennan could hardly censure Lio for transgressions not yet committed, and likely not to be committed, now, since Lio was sheathing his sword.
You still don't need to be a bitch to Lio, Keely. Brennan could probably make his life miserable even unofficially. I mean, to be fair, I don't think it'd be in character. And Keely probably knows that too. But Lio might not.
Keely accuses Brennan of being sent by Niall. He says no, and is uncharacteristically unconcerned with what their father might think of her behavior. Per Keely, he's not a "talebearer" but he's "hardly reluctant to point out failings in comportment if he thought it warranted".
Yeah, that tracks. Heh, he's my favorite, but he'd be so annoying to have as a sibling.
And his demeanor here really is interesting:
"May I?" Brennan asked.
I gave the sword into his keeping, waiting suspiciously.
Brennan tested the weight, the balance, examined the blade itself. Nodded thoughtfully, then glanced past me to Lio. And gave my sword to him. "Would you sheathe it and tend it for the lady? We are going riding, and have no need of swords."
I have to give Roberson credit for tone here. Because both Keely and I are waiting with some tension to see what he's going to do.
As he leads a protesting Keely off, he tells her that Aileen is improving and he'll be taking her to Joyenne for the summer. He thinks she'll enjoy the time away from reminders. Aidan won't be going yet, as he's a little too fragile, but Deirdre will tend him until he can join them. I'm not sure I agree that this will be less stressful for Aileen, but I have to admit that medieval royalty had different child-rearing practices than modern America.
And I'm giving Roberson credit in that I think this is more of a royalty thing (with the kids as much raised by extended family/servants as the parents) than bad writing.
He's inviting Keely to come along since he thinks Aileen might like the company as he's likely to get called back to the city for duties. Keely's on board, though she doesn't think he needed to interrupt the match for that.
And this is interesting too:
"Aye, of course ... I enjoy Joyenne—" I stopped walking. "Is that why you halted the match with Lio? To ask me this?" I sighed, biting back a stronger retort. "It might have waited, Brennan ... or did you do it in lieu of jehan?" Pointedly, I paused. "As you do so often."
He started me walking again. "I did not stop it because jehan has forbidden it. Such things as your behavior are your concern, not mine." My brother smiled blandly. "I came to ask you for your company, at Joyenne and now. I thought we could match my colt against the new gray filly."
...I'm a little nonplussed actually. I'm fairly certain that I remember Brennan being more of a sexist adversary at some point. Though not in a way that prevents him from being my favorite character. But I fully anticipate engaging in some variety of apologism at some point.
But I don't have to yet, apparently, and that's throwing me off. Memory is a strange thing.
Anyway, Keely freezes at the mention of the colt. And...wait, really? KEELY?
I get that Keely didn't want to tell Brennan about the colt when she first came back and Aileen was so fragile. But it's clearly been a while since then! You couldn't find ANY time to tell him his colt's been stolen?!
Oh, gods, not the colt— I stopped dead in my tracks. "Brennan—" But I broke it off, unable to tell him. ' Not so baldly. Not after so much time. I had lied. Now it had caught up to me, and I found I could not admit it.
...I mean, he's going to find out in like three seconds. And he's probably going to be upset. Kind of understandably!
Ahh. Here we go!
I opened my mouth. Shut it. Then shook my head. "No—I think another time. Not now. I—" I paused. "There is something else I must do. Another time, rujho."
"Now." One hand locked around my arm, held me in place, and he smiled all the while. "Keely, I have been to the stables. The colt is missing." His tone was calm, too calm. "The grooms say you came back from Clankeep without him."
Oh, gods. And without inflection, "Aye."
Brennan released my arm. His expression was carefully noncommittal, which made it all the worse. "You lied to me when I asked about him, Keely . . and now, when I give you a chance to explain what has happened, freely and without prejudice, you ignore the opportunity and create an empty excuse to leave." His tone hardened, as did his expression. "I want to know why. What have you done, Keely? What have you done now?"
Yeah, this is pretty warranted.
So Keely admits that she's ashamed. She starts to explain what happened. And to be honest, it really does sound kind of farfetched:
My belly twisted. I felt no better about the loss of the colt now than I had then. "I was tricked," I told him curtly, though my displeasure was for me, not for Brennan, who had a right to know. "Like a fool, I fell into a trap—first thieves who wanted my coin, then outlaws who—" I stopped short. I wanted to say nothing of Rory Redbeard and his Erinnish companions. Not yet. Not with things unresolved.
"Outlaws?" Brennan prodded. "Outlaws and thieves? Are they not one and the same?"
I shook my head. "I tried to get him back, Brennan. I did. I went back for him the next day, but Teir—"
I mean, I know it happened. I saw it as a reader. But just listed like that, it does seem pretty crazy. Then again, she's talking to a dude who came home, chatted with a wine girl, got drugged, restrained, tortured, and almost sacrificed in one night. So these people probably have a lot more tolerance when it comes to a litany of unlikely events.
Brennan definitely wants to know what happened with Teir, and Keely doesn't see any point to keeping it secret, though she tells us that she doesn't recount the entire meeting. Brennan would never understand as he has no doubts about his heritage or duty.
Or, you know, he might actually point out the idiot holes in your cousin's logic.
Roberson pulls a Robersonism here:
I saw no profit in keeping my meeting with Teirnan secret, since I had sworn no promises, nor had he asked any. And so I told Brennan freely. He listened intently as I recounted a little of my meeting with Teirnan, but not all. To Brennan, I could not; he would not understand. He had no doubts of his heritage, his duty, his tahlmorra. He would not tolerate any in me. Certainly he would not understand how I could even consider that our a'saii kinsman might have a valid point ... or two, or even three.
Which brought us back to the chestnut colt.
How does that bring you back to the colt?
(I really wish Roberson had given Teirnan a real argument. I can think of plenty, plenty that would be far more convincing then "oh we might lose our powers". The fact that Teir's nonsense even slightly sways Keely makes her look like a fucking idiot.)
Anyway, Brennan wants to go confront the thieves for the colt. This seems like a dumb idea, but I like Brennan more than I like Keely so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's been through a lot and this probably seems like something he can do something about.
I never claimed to be fair or reasonable in my critiques.
Keely wants to buy him another horse, but apparently the colt is special. Its father had died the day after the mare was bred. And Keely wouldn't have the coin to buy him, apparently Brennan almost didn't himself.
My temper deserted me. "A horse!" I shouted. "Not a woman, a child, a lir . . . gods, Brennan, you drive me mad—can you think of nothing else save your horses? What about Aileen? What about Aidan? What about me?"
"You," he agreed. "Aye, let me think about you; about why you stand here so afraid of showing me where outlaws tried to steal your coin, and perhaps your virtue—" It brought him up short. He stared, going gray around the mouth. "Gods, Keely—they did not—"
Keely has a point here, of course. It's ridiculous to risk oneself for a horse, no matter how valuable. I think this is a subtle indication that Brennan is still a bit out of sorts. I appreciate that he doesn't blame HER for what happened though. I had some worry.
And again, Brennan is the character concerned primarily with the threat of sexual violence as directed toward someone else. I wish that were not so remarkable in this series, but I'll grant Roberson that it's getting better. If nothing else, I appreciate how this book doesn't treat Keely's own fears as ridiculous either.
Keely asserts that they didn't, she had a knife, and manages to blurt out that they were Erinnish, a detail that Brennan is taken aback by.
My hands were fists. "Gods, Brennan, enough! Enough! I tried to get the colt back—I did try—but I could not. Does it matter who stole him? He is gone, gone—" I clamped hands against my head. "I swear, you will drive me mad—always asking questions!" I swung on my heel and walked away.
...yeah that's not obvious or anything.
Anyway, Keely tries storming away. Brennan grabs her arm. She turns into a bird, and he turns into a mountain cat and smacks her down. She challenges him, asking him if he wants to fight like cats, which actually would be interesting.
Instead he decides to "settle it like the Homanans do". He goes to the guardroom and claims both Keely's sword and Lio's from Lio. And comes back to challenge Keely to a fight.
You know what? When she's not calling him a rapist, I find their sibling dynamic honestly fascinating. They're so different but so alike in very strange ways. Keely of course doesn't see it. I'm not sure if Brennan does.
"Now," he told Lio, who found my sword and his own with admirable haste, and gave them both to Brennan, who thrust mine into my arms and pointed. "There. Let us see precisely how good you are." He paused. "Or are not."
"Brennan—"
He jerked Lio's blade free and threw the sheath to the bench. "Now, Keely. Not ten years from now—if your tongue and temper have not gotten you killed by then. Or, for that matter, by tomorrow."
"Ku'reshtin," I said calmly, and stripped my sword naked.
The chapter ends here.