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i_read_whatSo last time, Donal saved a kid and got himself a follower of sorts. We also still don't know why he's going to the Crystal Isle except that it has something to do with Electra.
We rejoin Donal as he gets a ship's captain to transport him, and the boy Sef, to the Crystal Isle. Apparently, all traffic to and from the island is watched closely by the Mujhar's men, and the only reason that they're letting Donal go at all is because of the royal signet ring that he's wearing.
The captain is a useful source of exposition, explaining to Donal and us that there are Cheysuli on the island, which prevents Electra from using any of her magic, and also keeps Tynstar from rescuing her. Good to know.
Donal seems less interested in the exposition and more interested in his new companion, Sef. Sef has new clothes now, and is wrapped in a deep blue cloak, and Donal thinks he looks more fey than human. He seems very fixated on the island. Donal tries to reassure him, but Sef has heard stories.
We get a little backstory from Sef:
The boy looked away again, staring at the deck. Then, slowly, he raised his head. “From many places. My mother earned bread by—by…” He broke off uncertainly. His face colored so that he looked younger than the thirteen years he claimed. His voice was nearly a whisper. “Because of—men. We—didn’t stay long in any single place.” He shrugged, as if he could dismiss it all. But Donal knew such things would never entirely fade, even with adulthood. “She died almost a year ago, and I had no place else to go. So—I stayed.”
Donal heard the underlying note of shame and loneliness in Sef’s tone. “Well, travel befits a man,” he said off-handedly, seeking to soothe the boy without insulting him with sympathy. In the clans, the Cheysuli rarely resorted to emphasizing unnecessary emotions. “You are of an age to learn the world, and Hondarth is as good a place as any to begin.”
On one hand, I like seeing Donal with Sef. As I said last chapter, he's good at striking the right balance with the kid, and it's a nice way to differentiate him from Carillon or Finn, who never had much to do with children.
On the other...what's with this "knew such things would never entirely fade"? We've been told over and over again that there is no shame for "light women" or meijha/mistresses in Cheysuli culture. Perhaps we're supposed to read between the lines that Sef's mother, or Sef himself was abused by the men. Fair enough.
Anyway, Sef is afraid that Donal will reject him because he's a bastard, but:
Donal made a quick dismissive gesture. “You forget, Sef—I am Cheysuli, not Homanan.” Inwardly he shut his ears to the voice that protested the easy denial of his Homanan blood. “In the clans, there is no such thing as bastardy. A child is born and his value is weighed in how he serves his clan and the prophecy, not in the question of his paternity.” Donal shook his head. “I care not if your jehan—your father—was thief or cobbler or soldier. So long as you earn your keep.”
It is easy to forget that Donal is both Homanan and Cheysuli. Poor Alix never really had the chance to explore what that means in her book, but it seems like Donal will. I'm looking forward to it.
Sef bitterly says that the Cheysuli are wiser than most, which leads into a discussion on what exactly Sef knows about the Cheysuli. Which isn't a lot, of course. We get some Cheysuli legend here though:
Donal smiled. “Do they? Well, they are wrong. That is a Cheysuli place, and there are no Cheysuli demons. Only gods, and the people they have made.”
“What people?”
“Those of us now known as the Cheysuli. Once, we were something different. Something—better.” Like the boy, he stared across the glass-gray ocean toward the misted island. Finally it grew clearer, more distinct. It was thickly forested, cloaked in lilac heather. Through the trees glowed a faint expanse of silver-white. “The Firstborn, Sef. Those the gods made first, as their name implies. Later, much later, were the Cheysuli born.”
Sef frowned, concentrating, so that his black brows overshadowed his odd eyes. “You’re saying once there were no people?”
“The shar tahls—our priest-historians—teach us that once the land was empty of men. It was a decision of the gods to put men upon the Crystal Isle and give it over to them freely. It is these original men we call the Firstborn. But the Firstborn soon outgrew the Crystal Isle, as men will when there are women, and went to Homana: a more spacious land for their growing numbers. They built a fine realm there, ruling it well, and the gods were pleased. As a mark of their favor, they sent the lir to them. And because of the earth magic, the Firstborn were able to bond with the lir, to learn what lir-shape is—”
Sef supplies the word "Shapechangers", but Donal gently explains that they don't use that word. Cheysuli means "children of the gods". He then goes into some internal monologuing about how the gods would never give the Cheysuli gifts like shapechanging if there was any chance they would use them for evil.
Eh? I read Shapechangers, and I wouldn't call you guys "good" there. Admittedly though it'll be at least another book before we meet a Cheysuli that the narrative will actually treat as a bad guy.
Anyway, Donal explains to Sef that it's true that he can shapeshift, but that Sef can do things that he can't as well. I'm not sure that quite works, and indeed, Sef points out that Donal becomes an animal while he remains a human boy.
Donal agrees with that, calling Sef "unblessed".
Sef changes the subject and asks where the Firstborn went:
The taffrail creaked as Donal shifted his weight. “It is too long a story. One night, I promise, I will tell you it all—but, for now, this will have to content you.” He looked directly at the boy and saw how attentive he was. “I am told the Firstborn became too inbred, that the gifts began to fade. And so before they died out they gave what they could to their children, the Cheysuli, and left them a prophecy.” For a moment he was touched by the gravity of what his race undertook; how important the service was. “It is the Firstborn we seek to regain by strengthening the blood. Someday, when the proper mixture is attained, we will have a Firstborn among us again, and all the magic will be reborn.” He smiled. “So the prophecy tells us: one day a man of all blood shall unite, in peace, two magical races and four warring realms.” Fluidly, he made the gesture of tahlmorra—right hand palm-up, fingers spread—to indicate the shortened form of the Old Tongue phrase meaning, in Homanan, the fate of a man rests always within the hands of the gods.
So this is the first time that we hear the full text of the prophecy, and what the Cheysuli are actually trying to achieve.
I have to admit though, I'm a little amused by the idea that the Firstborn became too inbred, when the rest of this series is basically just combinations of cousins getting married off and breeding the next generation, but okay. Whatever. We've now got the directive for the rest of the series.
Anyway, we're told that the Firstborn were far more powerful than the Cheysuli. They had no single lir, but conversed with all of them and took any shape they wanted. Sef points out that Donal has two, and well:
Donal laughed. “No, no, I am a Cheysuli halfling, or—perhaps more precisely—a three-quarterling.” He grinned. “But my half Homanan jehana bears the blood of the Firstborn—as well as some of the gifts—and by getting a child by my Cheysuli jehan she triggered that part of herself that has the Firstborn magic. I have two lir because of her, and I may converse with any, but nothing more than that. I am limited to those two shapes.”
By the way, Ms. Roberson, while I admit you've improved a lot, it's still fucking racist that Alix got her extra special magic Cheysuli ancestry from her white mom.
Now though we finally get into why Donal is going to the Crystal Isle. KIND OF.
Donal sighed and his mouth hooked down into a resigned grimace. “No, I go there on business for the Mujhar.” He felt the curl of unhappiness tighten his belly. “What I am about is securing the throne of Homana.”
“Securing it—?” Sef frowned. “But—the Mujhar holds it. It’s his.”
“There are those who seek to throw down Carillon’s House to set up another,” Donal told him grimly. “Even now, in Solinde…we know they plan a war.”
Donal tangents into an explanation of the Ihlini, and I'm reminded of my Dragonsong/Dragonsinger frustration every time it seemed like someone was ABOUT to explain what Harpers actually do. Because seriously dude, WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Anyway, Sef knows Ihlini are "Solindish demons", which Donal agrees with. They want to take the throne for their own (...do they? I feel like Tynstar had the opportunity to take it a few times now) and want to destroy the prophecy. They serve Asar-Suti, or the Seker, who is the god of the underworld.
Anyway, Donal tells Sef that this is why it's so important that Sef learn how to hold his tongue. He thinks to himself that Sef might not end up being equal to the task of serving him, but he wants to give him a chance. And perhaps he has found someone to serve him as well as Rowan serves Carillon.
Ooo, Rowan! I like Rowan!
Anyway, we get some nice description of the Crystal Isle:
The prison-palace on the Crystal Isle stood atop a gentle hill of ash-colored bracken and lilac heather. The forest grew up around the pedestal of the hill, hiding much of the palace, but through the trees gleamed the whitewashed walls, attended by a pervasive silver mist. Stretching from the white sand beaches through the wind-stirred forest was a path of crushed sea shells, rose and lilac, pale blue and gold, creamy ivory.
Donal stood very still upon the beach, looking inland toward the forest. He did not look at the palace—it was not so ancient as the island and Homanan-made at that—but at the things the gods had made instead. Then he closed his eyes and gave himself over to sensation.
The wind curled gently around his body, caressing him with subtle fingers. It seemed to promise him things. He knew without doubting that the isle was full of dreams and magic and, if he sought it, a perfect peace and solitude. Carillon might have banished his treacherous wife to the island, but the place was a sacred place. Donal had thought perhaps the incarceration profaned the Crystal Isle.
But he sensed no unhappiness, no dissatisfaction in the wind. Perhaps the island was used for mundane Homanan concerns, but at heart it was still Cheysuli, still part and parcel of the Firstborn. It merely waited. One day, someone would return it to its proper state.
I do like the juxtaposition of the Homanan palace and the imprisoned queen with the natural state of the island. The path is made of delicate shells which seems like a really bad idea. Even Donal is afraid to walk on them at first, and Sef outright trips and falls. Poor kid. And indeed, he feels something strange about this place and starts to freak out.
He seems to be hearing things, and Donal starts to wonder if Sef might be Cheysuli himself. Donal gets Sef calmed, and points out that they have nothing to fear and that he is, pardon his arrogance, a descendant of the first born. Sef, in contrast, doesn't know what he is.
The place looks fancy:
The interior of the expansive palace was pillared in white marble veined with silver and rose. Silken tapestries of rainbow colors decked the white walls and fine carpets replaced rushes which, even scented, grew old and rank too quickly. Donal did not know how much of the amenities had been ordered by Electra—or, more likely, by Carillon—but he was impressed. Homana-Mujhar, for all its grandeur, was somewhat austere at times. This place, he thought, would make a better home.
Except it is a prison.
Racks of scented beeswax candles illuminated the vastness of the entry hall. Servants passed by on business of their own, as did occasional guards attired in Carillon’s black-and-crimson livery. Donal saw a few Cheysuli warriors in customary leathers and gold, but for the most part his fellow warriors remained unobtrusive.
A woman greets them, and we learned that Carillon had exiled Electra's Solindish servant women as well. Really, dude? Really? Donal has much the same reaction that I do. They could be plotting to overthrow Carillon or something.
Donal's lir point out that she can't do anything here with Cheysuli around, but I feel like they might be underestimating her. Just because she may be limited in what Ihlini magic she can do does not mean she's without recourse.
The woman makes Sef wait outside.
He had heard, as they all had, that Electra’s fabled beauty was mostly illusory, that Tynstar had given it to her along with the gift of youth and immortality; so long as she was not slain outright, she—like Tynstar—would never die. He had heard that the beauty would fade, since she was separated from Tynstar. But Donal knew how much power rumors had—as well as how little truth—and now as he saw the woman again for the first time in fifteen years, he could not say if she was human or immortal; ensorceled or genuine.
By the gods…separation from Tynstar has not dulled her beauty; has not dispersed the magic!
Her pale gray eyes, watched him approach the dais. Long-lidded, somnolent eyes; eyes that spoke of bedding. Her hair was still a fine white-blonde, lacking none of its shine or texture. Loose, it flowed over her shoulders like a mantle, held back from her face by a simple fillet of golden, interlocked swans. Her skin lacked none of the delicate bloom of youth, and her allure was every bit as powerful as it had been the day she trapped Carillon in her spell.
Ugh. "Trapped Carillon in her spell." She never wanted him! HE decided he was obsessed with HER.
Donal gets a bit gross here himself:
Donal looked at her. No longer a boy, he saw Electra as a man sees a woman: appraising, judgmental and forever wondering what she would be like if she ever shared his bed. He could not look at her without sexual fantasy; it was not that he desired her, simply that Electra seemed to magically inspire it.
Ugh. Anyway, Donal now understands Carillon a bit better.
And FINALLY, we find out why he's here:
“I have come to fetch home your daughter, lady,” he said quietly. “It is time for us to wed.”
WHY THE FUCK IS THE PRINCESS OF HOMANA HERE?
Anyway, Electra has no intention of allowing her daughter to wed a Cheysuli shapechanger. Donal points out that she doesn't really have a choice in the matter, given that she's a prisoner. And the only reason he's heir to Homana now is because of her actions.
Electra gets a pretty good villainous monologue here:
Long-nailed fingers twisted the wine-red fabric of her mantle. Her eyes held a malignant fascination. “Your prophecy says a Cheysuli must hold the Lion Throne of Homana before it can be fulfilled. Undoubtedly all of the shapechangers think that man will be you, since Carillon has let everyone know—no matter how unofficially—that he intends to proclaim you his heir. ‘Prince of Homana,’ are you not styled, even before the proper time?” Electra smiled. “But that is not the prophecy Tynstar chooses to serve…nor is it mine! We will put no Cheysuli on the Lion Throne but an Ihlini-born man, and we will see to Carillon’s death.”
Donal asks if Electra has told Aislinn of her plans. Electra claims that's none of his concern, but he points out that Aislinn will be his cheysula. She doesn't like hearing a cheysuli word, and claims that she rules this palace.
Donal provokes her by pointing out that she rules pretty much nothing. She tries to summon purple flame at him, but it doesn't work. Donal gets his own bit of monologue, pointing out that she's fifty-five and one day her age will catch up to her. Her destiny is to wither and die after Tynstar is slain, and he wishes her well of it.
The chapter ends with an ominous cliffhanger though:
Electra said nothing. She merely smiled an unsettling smile.
“What of me?” asked a voice from a curtained opening. “What do you wish for me?”
So yeah, for some reason, Carillon decided to send his sixteen year old daughter to the wife who (justifiably!) wants him dead. I can't imagine this going poorly for him!
We rejoin Donal as he gets a ship's captain to transport him, and the boy Sef, to the Crystal Isle. Apparently, all traffic to and from the island is watched closely by the Mujhar's men, and the only reason that they're letting Donal go at all is because of the royal signet ring that he's wearing.
The captain is a useful source of exposition, explaining to Donal and us that there are Cheysuli on the island, which prevents Electra from using any of her magic, and also keeps Tynstar from rescuing her. Good to know.
Donal seems less interested in the exposition and more interested in his new companion, Sef. Sef has new clothes now, and is wrapped in a deep blue cloak, and Donal thinks he looks more fey than human. He seems very fixated on the island. Donal tries to reassure him, but Sef has heard stories.
We get a little backstory from Sef:
The boy looked away again, staring at the deck. Then, slowly, he raised his head. “From many places. My mother earned bread by—by…” He broke off uncertainly. His face colored so that he looked younger than the thirteen years he claimed. His voice was nearly a whisper. “Because of—men. We—didn’t stay long in any single place.” He shrugged, as if he could dismiss it all. But Donal knew such things would never entirely fade, even with adulthood. “She died almost a year ago, and I had no place else to go. So—I stayed.”
Donal heard the underlying note of shame and loneliness in Sef’s tone. “Well, travel befits a man,” he said off-handedly, seeking to soothe the boy without insulting him with sympathy. In the clans, the Cheysuli rarely resorted to emphasizing unnecessary emotions. “You are of an age to learn the world, and Hondarth is as good a place as any to begin.”
On one hand, I like seeing Donal with Sef. As I said last chapter, he's good at striking the right balance with the kid, and it's a nice way to differentiate him from Carillon or Finn, who never had much to do with children.
On the other...what's with this "knew such things would never entirely fade"? We've been told over and over again that there is no shame for "light women" or meijha/mistresses in Cheysuli culture. Perhaps we're supposed to read between the lines that Sef's mother, or Sef himself was abused by the men. Fair enough.
Anyway, Sef is afraid that Donal will reject him because he's a bastard, but:
Donal made a quick dismissive gesture. “You forget, Sef—I am Cheysuli, not Homanan.” Inwardly he shut his ears to the voice that protested the easy denial of his Homanan blood. “In the clans, there is no such thing as bastardy. A child is born and his value is weighed in how he serves his clan and the prophecy, not in the question of his paternity.” Donal shook his head. “I care not if your jehan—your father—was thief or cobbler or soldier. So long as you earn your keep.”
It is easy to forget that Donal is both Homanan and Cheysuli. Poor Alix never really had the chance to explore what that means in her book, but it seems like Donal will. I'm looking forward to it.
Sef bitterly says that the Cheysuli are wiser than most, which leads into a discussion on what exactly Sef knows about the Cheysuli. Which isn't a lot, of course. We get some Cheysuli legend here though:
Donal smiled. “Do they? Well, they are wrong. That is a Cheysuli place, and there are no Cheysuli demons. Only gods, and the people they have made.”
“What people?”
“Those of us now known as the Cheysuli. Once, we were something different. Something—better.” Like the boy, he stared across the glass-gray ocean toward the misted island. Finally it grew clearer, more distinct. It was thickly forested, cloaked in lilac heather. Through the trees glowed a faint expanse of silver-white. “The Firstborn, Sef. Those the gods made first, as their name implies. Later, much later, were the Cheysuli born.”
Sef frowned, concentrating, so that his black brows overshadowed his odd eyes. “You’re saying once there were no people?”
“The shar tahls—our priest-historians—teach us that once the land was empty of men. It was a decision of the gods to put men upon the Crystal Isle and give it over to them freely. It is these original men we call the Firstborn. But the Firstborn soon outgrew the Crystal Isle, as men will when there are women, and went to Homana: a more spacious land for their growing numbers. They built a fine realm there, ruling it well, and the gods were pleased. As a mark of their favor, they sent the lir to them. And because of the earth magic, the Firstborn were able to bond with the lir, to learn what lir-shape is—”
Sef supplies the word "Shapechangers", but Donal gently explains that they don't use that word. Cheysuli means "children of the gods". He then goes into some internal monologuing about how the gods would never give the Cheysuli gifts like shapechanging if there was any chance they would use them for evil.
Eh? I read Shapechangers, and I wouldn't call you guys "good" there. Admittedly though it'll be at least another book before we meet a Cheysuli that the narrative will actually treat as a bad guy.
Anyway, Donal explains to Sef that it's true that he can shapeshift, but that Sef can do things that he can't as well. I'm not sure that quite works, and indeed, Sef points out that Donal becomes an animal while he remains a human boy.
Donal agrees with that, calling Sef "unblessed".
Sef changes the subject and asks where the Firstborn went:
The taffrail creaked as Donal shifted his weight. “It is too long a story. One night, I promise, I will tell you it all—but, for now, this will have to content you.” He looked directly at the boy and saw how attentive he was. “I am told the Firstborn became too inbred, that the gifts began to fade. And so before they died out they gave what they could to their children, the Cheysuli, and left them a prophecy.” For a moment he was touched by the gravity of what his race undertook; how important the service was. “It is the Firstborn we seek to regain by strengthening the blood. Someday, when the proper mixture is attained, we will have a Firstborn among us again, and all the magic will be reborn.” He smiled. “So the prophecy tells us: one day a man of all blood shall unite, in peace, two magical races and four warring realms.” Fluidly, he made the gesture of tahlmorra—right hand palm-up, fingers spread—to indicate the shortened form of the Old Tongue phrase meaning, in Homanan, the fate of a man rests always within the hands of the gods.
So this is the first time that we hear the full text of the prophecy, and what the Cheysuli are actually trying to achieve.
I have to admit though, I'm a little amused by the idea that the Firstborn became too inbred, when the rest of this series is basically just combinations of cousins getting married off and breeding the next generation, but okay. Whatever. We've now got the directive for the rest of the series.
Anyway, we're told that the Firstborn were far more powerful than the Cheysuli. They had no single lir, but conversed with all of them and took any shape they wanted. Sef points out that Donal has two, and well:
Donal laughed. “No, no, I am a Cheysuli halfling, or—perhaps more precisely—a three-quarterling.” He grinned. “But my half Homanan jehana bears the blood of the Firstborn—as well as some of the gifts—and by getting a child by my Cheysuli jehan she triggered that part of herself that has the Firstborn magic. I have two lir because of her, and I may converse with any, but nothing more than that. I am limited to those two shapes.”
By the way, Ms. Roberson, while I admit you've improved a lot, it's still fucking racist that Alix got her extra special magic Cheysuli ancestry from her white mom.
Now though we finally get into why Donal is going to the Crystal Isle. KIND OF.
Donal sighed and his mouth hooked down into a resigned grimace. “No, I go there on business for the Mujhar.” He felt the curl of unhappiness tighten his belly. “What I am about is securing the throne of Homana.”
“Securing it—?” Sef frowned. “But—the Mujhar holds it. It’s his.”
“There are those who seek to throw down Carillon’s House to set up another,” Donal told him grimly. “Even now, in Solinde…we know they plan a war.”
Donal tangents into an explanation of the Ihlini, and I'm reminded of my Dragonsong/Dragonsinger frustration every time it seemed like someone was ABOUT to explain what Harpers actually do. Because seriously dude, WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Anyway, Sef knows Ihlini are "Solindish demons", which Donal agrees with. They want to take the throne for their own (...do they? I feel like Tynstar had the opportunity to take it a few times now) and want to destroy the prophecy. They serve Asar-Suti, or the Seker, who is the god of the underworld.
Anyway, Donal tells Sef that this is why it's so important that Sef learn how to hold his tongue. He thinks to himself that Sef might not end up being equal to the task of serving him, but he wants to give him a chance. And perhaps he has found someone to serve him as well as Rowan serves Carillon.
Ooo, Rowan! I like Rowan!
Anyway, we get some nice description of the Crystal Isle:
The prison-palace on the Crystal Isle stood atop a gentle hill of ash-colored bracken and lilac heather. The forest grew up around the pedestal of the hill, hiding much of the palace, but through the trees gleamed the whitewashed walls, attended by a pervasive silver mist. Stretching from the white sand beaches through the wind-stirred forest was a path of crushed sea shells, rose and lilac, pale blue and gold, creamy ivory.
Donal stood very still upon the beach, looking inland toward the forest. He did not look at the palace—it was not so ancient as the island and Homanan-made at that—but at the things the gods had made instead. Then he closed his eyes and gave himself over to sensation.
The wind curled gently around his body, caressing him with subtle fingers. It seemed to promise him things. He knew without doubting that the isle was full of dreams and magic and, if he sought it, a perfect peace and solitude. Carillon might have banished his treacherous wife to the island, but the place was a sacred place. Donal had thought perhaps the incarceration profaned the Crystal Isle.
But he sensed no unhappiness, no dissatisfaction in the wind. Perhaps the island was used for mundane Homanan concerns, but at heart it was still Cheysuli, still part and parcel of the Firstborn. It merely waited. One day, someone would return it to its proper state.
I do like the juxtaposition of the Homanan palace and the imprisoned queen with the natural state of the island. The path is made of delicate shells which seems like a really bad idea. Even Donal is afraid to walk on them at first, and Sef outright trips and falls. Poor kid. And indeed, he feels something strange about this place and starts to freak out.
He seems to be hearing things, and Donal starts to wonder if Sef might be Cheysuli himself. Donal gets Sef calmed, and points out that they have nothing to fear and that he is, pardon his arrogance, a descendant of the first born. Sef, in contrast, doesn't know what he is.
The place looks fancy:
The interior of the expansive palace was pillared in white marble veined with silver and rose. Silken tapestries of rainbow colors decked the white walls and fine carpets replaced rushes which, even scented, grew old and rank too quickly. Donal did not know how much of the amenities had been ordered by Electra—or, more likely, by Carillon—but he was impressed. Homana-Mujhar, for all its grandeur, was somewhat austere at times. This place, he thought, would make a better home.
Except it is a prison.
Racks of scented beeswax candles illuminated the vastness of the entry hall. Servants passed by on business of their own, as did occasional guards attired in Carillon’s black-and-crimson livery. Donal saw a few Cheysuli warriors in customary leathers and gold, but for the most part his fellow warriors remained unobtrusive.
A woman greets them, and we learned that Carillon had exiled Electra's Solindish servant women as well. Really, dude? Really? Donal has much the same reaction that I do. They could be plotting to overthrow Carillon or something.
Donal's lir point out that she can't do anything here with Cheysuli around, but I feel like they might be underestimating her. Just because she may be limited in what Ihlini magic she can do does not mean she's without recourse.
The woman makes Sef wait outside.
He had heard, as they all had, that Electra’s fabled beauty was mostly illusory, that Tynstar had given it to her along with the gift of youth and immortality; so long as she was not slain outright, she—like Tynstar—would never die. He had heard that the beauty would fade, since she was separated from Tynstar. But Donal knew how much power rumors had—as well as how little truth—and now as he saw the woman again for the first time in fifteen years, he could not say if she was human or immortal; ensorceled or genuine.
By the gods…separation from Tynstar has not dulled her beauty; has not dispersed the magic!
Her pale gray eyes, watched him approach the dais. Long-lidded, somnolent eyes; eyes that spoke of bedding. Her hair was still a fine white-blonde, lacking none of its shine or texture. Loose, it flowed over her shoulders like a mantle, held back from her face by a simple fillet of golden, interlocked swans. Her skin lacked none of the delicate bloom of youth, and her allure was every bit as powerful as it had been the day she trapped Carillon in her spell.
Ugh. "Trapped Carillon in her spell." She never wanted him! HE decided he was obsessed with HER.
Donal gets a bit gross here himself:
Donal looked at her. No longer a boy, he saw Electra as a man sees a woman: appraising, judgmental and forever wondering what she would be like if she ever shared his bed. He could not look at her without sexual fantasy; it was not that he desired her, simply that Electra seemed to magically inspire it.
Ugh. Anyway, Donal now understands Carillon a bit better.
And FINALLY, we find out why he's here:
“I have come to fetch home your daughter, lady,” he said quietly. “It is time for us to wed.”
WHY THE FUCK IS THE PRINCESS OF HOMANA HERE?
Anyway, Electra has no intention of allowing her daughter to wed a Cheysuli shapechanger. Donal points out that she doesn't really have a choice in the matter, given that she's a prisoner. And the only reason he's heir to Homana now is because of her actions.
Electra gets a pretty good villainous monologue here:
Long-nailed fingers twisted the wine-red fabric of her mantle. Her eyes held a malignant fascination. “Your prophecy says a Cheysuli must hold the Lion Throne of Homana before it can be fulfilled. Undoubtedly all of the shapechangers think that man will be you, since Carillon has let everyone know—no matter how unofficially—that he intends to proclaim you his heir. ‘Prince of Homana,’ are you not styled, even before the proper time?” Electra smiled. “But that is not the prophecy Tynstar chooses to serve…nor is it mine! We will put no Cheysuli on the Lion Throne but an Ihlini-born man, and we will see to Carillon’s death.”
Donal asks if Electra has told Aislinn of her plans. Electra claims that's none of his concern, but he points out that Aislinn will be his cheysula. She doesn't like hearing a cheysuli word, and claims that she rules this palace.
Donal provokes her by pointing out that she rules pretty much nothing. She tries to summon purple flame at him, but it doesn't work. Donal gets his own bit of monologue, pointing out that she's fifty-five and one day her age will catch up to her. Her destiny is to wither and die after Tynstar is slain, and he wishes her well of it.
The chapter ends with an ominous cliffhanger though:
Electra said nothing. She merely smiled an unsettling smile.
“What of me?” asked a voice from a curtained opening. “What do you wish for me?”
So yeah, for some reason, Carillon decided to send his sixteen year old daughter to the wife who (justifiably!) wants him dead. I can't imagine this going poorly for him!
no subject
Date: 2021-04-21 04:43 pm (UTC)Knowing how the latter acted around Alix, thank goodness he stuck to adults.
So, Electra returns as a villain, still serving Tynstar. I am sure her imprisonment will NOT last long at all. Also, nice to know she will not age until her master is slain.
Donal looked at her. No longer a boy, he saw Electra as a man sees a woman: appraising, judgmental and forever wondering what she would be like if she ever shared his bed. He could not look at her without sexual fantasy; it was not that he desired her, simply that Electra seemed to magically inspire it.
It's not Shapechangers, but unless she has some magic forcing love, she SHOULDN'T be blamed for Carillon and Donal acting like that! It's sexist!
no subject
Date: 2021-04-21 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-04 11:09 am (UTC)unless she has some magic forcing love, she SHOULDN'T be blamed for Carillon and Donal acting like that! It's sexist!
I'm seriously wondering if Tynstar cast some "all men will desire you" spell on her.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-10 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-06-10 02:00 am (UTC)