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i_read_whatSo last time, Carillon proved himself to be a crappy father, AGAIN. Aislinn got her mind probed, and we saw FINN! Fortunately, he's still the version from Song, NOT the version from Shapechangers. Unfortunately, this whole book feels more like a direct sequel of Shapechangers, which likely explains my dissatisfaction.
We rejoin Donal as he leaves the pavilion to find Bronwyn conversing with Sef. Oh, sorry, you don't know who Bronwyn is. She hasn't been mentioned until now. This is her introduction:
Donal stepped outside the pavilion, glad to feel the fresh air again, and found his sister in deep conversation with Sef. In all excitement of having Aislinn tested by Finn, he had forgotten Bronwyn entirely. He had not seen her for longer than he cared to admit. But then, he put her from his mind as often as he could.
No. Not Bronwyn. What Bronwyn could become.
She turned as he stepped out. She resembled their mother mostly, with Alix’s amber eyes and lighter complexion, but her hair was Cheysuli black.
Or Ihlini black. In that she could take after Tynstar.
I think this book forgot about Bronwyn entirely until now. But yes, Bronwyn is Donal's sister. Remember how Alix got kidnapped by Tynstar and came back pregnant? Poor Bronwyn is the result.
Donal tells us that he can't remember exactly when he learned of Bronwyn's parentage, which is a nice save for the fact that they probably didn't need to tell him at any age. Especially when Bronwyn herself doesn't know. She's not shown any signs of Ihlini gifts yet, but she's moody. The lir can't give any help either. They can only detect her Cheysuli heritage.
We're told that no one but Alix, Finn, Carillon, Sorcha and Donal know.
WAIT A SECOND. Okay, obviously Alix told Carillon. We were there for that. Finn probably needed to know, as clan leader. Donal...I still think Donal didn't have to know, but I suppose the logic is that as eventual king, he probably does need to know about possible threats.
But why the Hell does Donal's mistress have to know?!
Anyway, Bronwyn's wardrobe choice is rife with symbolism:
She wore a gown of deepest purple trimmed with wine-red yarn in a linked pattern of animals. Birds and bears and cats promenaded at collar and cuffs. The front of her skirts was hooked over the tops of her leather boots, as if she had been running. As it was Bronwyn, she probably had been. She rarely ever walked.
She is wild. So wild. Someone else might say it was the recklessness of girlhood. But—I cannot help but wonder if there is more to it than that.
And this is why they really shouldn't have told Donal. He lacks any kind of subtlety or sympathy. Donal notices that Sef seems very attentive to Bronwyn, and having seen young boys impressed with young girls before, thinks that he'd spill more to her than anyone else if she asked. Interestingly, Aislinn doesn't seem to be without allies here:
“Then I leave you in companionship to one another,” he told them. “I have private business now.”
“With Sorcha?” Bronwyn asked as he turned to go.
Donal abruptly turned back. Bronwyn as well as anyone in the Keep knew what he shared with Sorcha. She knew also he was betrothed to Aislinn; it was common knowledge in the clans. But Bronwyn was Aislinn’s friend, and he did not doubt she felt conflicting loyalties nearly as much as he did, if in a different way.
...maybe Bronwyn realizes that, given that you've been betrothed since the age of eight, entering into a full on all-but-marriage with another woman is cruel and unfair to both of them?
I'm sure I'm supposed to find it noble when Donal asks Bronwyn to give Aislinn what comfort she can, but it really just seems like he's foisting his job onto her. Bronwyn seems to have a good idea of what Aislinn is unwilling to say:
“Aislinn loves you,” Bronwyn told him. “When we are together—here or at the palace—she tells me how you make her feel.” Abruptly she looked away, embarrassed. “Donal—I know what there is between meijha and warrior…but I do not think Aislinn does. The Homanans do not share.”
Donal flicked a glance at Sef. The boy listened, but he did so from behind a tactful mask. That much he had learned of royal customs.
“Aislinn must learn,” Donal said finally, knowing he sounded colder than he felt; not knowing how else to sound. “You learned. Meghan learned.”
I feel guilty saying this, because the Cheysuli were all but wiped out, but it bugs me that it's constantly all about Aislinn having to adapt to Cheysuli customs. I'm not saying Donal has to abandon Sorcha and Ian, but he has to realize that he's going to be king of HOMANA. He's not going to be able to live at the Keep. And the Homanans who supposedly won't even let Carillon divorce Electra are not going to understand this. He's in a snaggle now, and I'm not sure he appreciates how much.
And it's annoying because it was probably avoidable.
Anyway, Bronwyn points out that she and Meghan were raised Cheysuli. Aislinn wasn't. Donal asks what she would do, since she's almost the same age as Aislinn. Dude, did you not hear her point out that she's raised CHEYSULI?
Bronwyn clearly had never considered it. She looked thoughtful, then shrugged and spread her hands. Her expression was deeply troubled. “I have been taught a warrior may have both meijha and cheysula. It is difficult for me to think of it differently. But—I have heard how Aislinn speaks of you, and how she dreams of the wedding and the marriage—” Bronwyn stopped short as anguish filled her eyes. “Oh rujho, be gentle with her. I think she will never understand.”
I think she had considered it. When she JUST SAID that it's different for her and Meghan because she was raised Cheysuli. DONAL is the one who didn't consider this, as is evident by his "oh gods" in response, as he leaves.
And it still bugs me that this sort-of polyamory only works one way. Can a woman have a cheysul and whatever the male equivalent of meijha is? I'm guessing not, seeing as how we don't have a male equivalent word for meijha.
I also wonder if part of Donal's problem is that he doesn't want Sorcha as a MISTRESS, he wants her as a wife. Hell, she's in a pavilion painted with a wolf and falcon. Where do women live if they are neither cheysula or meijha?
They do seem to have a very warm relationship:
A slim hand caught the edge of the tapestry curtain dividing the sleeping area from the front section of the pavilion. He saw Sorcha’s face as she pulled the curtain back, and the hugeness of her belly.
“Gods,” he said in surprise, having lost track of the months upon sight of her. “Are you certain you will not burst?”
Sorcha laughed, splaying one hand across her swollen belly. “No more than I did the last time.”
Ian's with Meghan. Apparently Bronwyn offered to babysit but...
He knew what she would not say, because she had no wish to hurt him. And he did not blame her for her growing distrust of his sister. None of them could afford to trust too much to an Ihlini, no matter how she was raised.
Except for my jehana.
...you know, this is why it doesn't make sense that you told your mistress about Bronwyn, dude. Also, poor Bronwyn, growing up with this distrust and never knowing why. The ONLY person who has the right to judge the poor girl is Alix. Who apparently DOES trust her daughter.
Sorcha is having some sharp pains. She thinks it's another boy, and he's coming soon. VERY SOON. As in contractions. NOW.
Donal offers to fetch Alix, but...
“Not yet,” she answered breathlessly. “Soon. But I want to share you with no one for at least a little while.” Her eyes were green. Half Homanan, Sorcha showed no Cheysuli blood. But she had been born and raised in the clan, and her customs were all Cheysuli. “Aislinn is here,” she said.
You know what bugs me about this series. We have three female culturally Cheysuli characters introduced in quick succession. That's great, by the way. I don't mind that. BUT...Bronwyn is pale, like Alix herself. Sorcha is a green-eyed blond. Meghan, as we'll see, is practically a young double of Tourmaline.
We're three books in, and the only female Cheysuli character that we've met that actually looks Cheysuli is Raissa. Isn't that weird?
Anyway, Donal notices that Sorcha sounds bitter, and there's an underlying hostility in her tone that he'd never heard before. OH REALLY, YOU THINK. He would have questioned her about it, but he saw how her face stretched taut with effort. Her hand clung to his as he knelt beside the pallet.
...yes, thank you for not grilling the pregnant woman who is in labor. What a prince you are.
Sorcha does want to talk about Aislinn and her own issues.
He brushed hair out of his face. The urgency in her tone worried him. “Gods, Sorcha—this is nonsense…there are better times to speak of this—”
“No better time.” Her fingers were locked on his hand. “I have borne you two sons and now perhaps another. I would bear you more willingly; I would do anything you asked me to.” She swallowed visibly. “But I will not give you up. I will not let you be swallowed up by that witch’s Homanan daughter.”
“Sorcha—you are half Homanan,” he reminded her mildly.
Sweat glistened at her temples. “And I would open my veins if I thought it would purge me of my Homanan blood. I would cut off a hand if I thought it would relieve me of the taint. But it would not—it would not—and all I can do is look at my son and thank the gods he has so little Homanan in him.” She sucked in a breath against the pain. “Gods, Donal—I hate the Homanan in me! I would trade anything to claim myself all Cheysuli—”
So there is a lot of interesting stuff to unpack here:
a) Tell me again how it's fine to have both meijha and cheysula, and how both are equal and good. Sorcha is as unhappy about it as Aislinn is, and while a lot of that is due to the Homanan part, it's also true that she fears Aislinn's claim BECAUSE Aislinn will be Donal's wife.
b) Sorcha's situation is pretty fascinating. And terrible. It makes perfect since that a young half-Homanan who grew up among the Cheysuli would hate the side of her that committed the purge. Especially if she was also, as seems likely, a child of rape.
(Though given what we saw in Shapechangers, it seems fairly likely that Sorcha was born because her Cheysuli father kidnapped and raped her Homanan mother rather than the reverse.)
Donal points out that there's Homanan in him as well, and her response...
“Gods!” she cried. “It is not the same with you. You are the chosen—you are the one we have waited for—you are the one with the proper blood who will take the Lion from Homana and give it back to the Cheysuli—” She shut her mouth on a cry of pain and bit deeply into her lip. Her fingers dug into the flesh of his hand. “Oh Donal, do you see? You will leave us all behind. You will turn your back on your clan. They will make you into a toy for the Homanans—” Sorcha writhed against the pallet. “Never forget you are Cheysuli. Never forget you are a warrior. Never forget who sired you…and do not allow the witch’s daughter to turn you against your heritage with her Homanan ways—”
...I'm starting to feel like this isn't a very healthy dynamic, and Sorcha maybe should have gotten some kind of counseling a long time ago.
Assuming the Cheysuli have such things. Which they probably don't.
Anyway, it is an interesting contrast. Alix and Sorcha, and Meghan for that matter, are all half Homanan and half Cheysuli. Alix was raised Homanan and chooses to be Cheysuli. Sorcha is raised Cheysuli and is a fanatic. Meghan is raised Cheysuli, but is apparently Aislinn's friend, if we remember what Finn said. So presumably, she's a bit more open-minded.
Rowan is full Cheysuli, but completely culturally Homanan. It would be interesting if they met.
For the record, I don't blame Sorcha one bit. Her feelings are completely understandable. But it makes her a really poor choice for mistress to a mixed-race man who has to marry a Homanan woman and has to inherit a Homanan throne.
Now Sorcha's attitude is interesting for another reason, because it's a precursor to a challenge that will arise in later books. There will be factions of Cheysuli with Sorcha's attitude, and I like that, because no group should be a monolith. Here, we're seeing the seeds. It's not a big deal now, since Donal is their chosen one, who will take the throne as a Cheysuli.
But what about when Donal's heir takes the throne? Presumably that will be his and Aislinn's child. A child that will be, ethnically speaking, more Homanan than Cheysuli. That might not be a problem normally, but what if Donal had another son who is more ethnically Cheysuli, and in Cheysuli eyes, equally as legitimate. And who was firstborn.
This relationship with Sorcha is not just cruel to both women, it's also politically fucking stupid.
Anyway, the exchange gets heated. Donal FINALLY acknowledges that he can't rule Homana from the Keep, and Sorcha accuses Homana/Carillon of stealing him and Carillon making Donal his son instead of Duncan's. She begs him to make the lion Cheysuli again.
...you know, Donal, if you HAD to fall in love with a Cheysuli woman, could you at least have picked someone who isn't an anti-Homanan extremist? How did you choose the WORST WOMAN POSSIBLE as a mistress?!
...well, that's not fair. Electra would probably be a worse choice. Probably.
Anyway, she starts crying out, and her belly rolls and that sounds disgusting and terrifying and I am so glad I will never be pregnant. Donal summons Alix through Taj. ALIX!!!
We don't have time to say hi. Though we're told that she's still slim in a rose-red gown, which is a weird observation for Donal to make. It's good for us to know Alix hasn't gotten old and fat yet, I guess, but Donal's presumably seen his mother fairly recently. Anyway, she gently but firmly kicks Donal out.
And that's when he comes face to face with Aislinn, who looks pale. Understandably.
She tells him that Finn wouldn't tell her where Donal was, but Bronwyn told her the truth. She wanted to meet her rival.
She was all vulnerability, suddenly fragile in the light; pale lily on a slender stalk with a trembling, delicate bloom. But she was also pride; a little bruised, a trifle shaken, but pride nonetheless. As much as claimed by any Cheysuli.
I'm reminded suddenly of Song of Homana. Carillon's fixation on Electra really did seem to be a transference of his feelings for Finn sometimes, given his focus on her pride and arrogance.
Anyway, he tells her it's not the time, and she realizes what's happening:
From the pavilion there came the muted cry of a woman in labor, and Aislinn’s gray eyes widened. “The baby—! You told me the child was due—” She broke off, covering her mouth with one hand, and her eyes filled up with tears. But almost as quickly she blinked them away. “No,” she said. “My mother told me tears are not the way to win a man’s regard. Strength, she said, and determination…and the magic of every woman born—”
Oh, poor Aislinn.
We get another nonsequitur here:
“Then how can I turn your affections to me?” she interrupted. “Can I leash you, like a hound? Can I hood you, like a hawk? Can I bridle you, like a horse?” Her body was rigid under his hands. “Or do I give you over to freedom, and know I have lost you forever?”
He heard Sorcha’s warning sounding in his head: —do not allow the witch’s daughter to turn you against your heritage—
“No,” he said aloud. “I am Cheysuli first.”
The fuck dude? Aislinn is frustrated at knowing her betrothed is in love with someone else. It's not about race!
Aislinn asks if he's Homanan last, and if this is the heir her Homanan father chose.
Yes, actually. And to give Carillon credit, I think he did intend that. I don't think he wants to turn Donal Homanan. He WANTS Homana ruled by Cheysuli.
I SHOULD sympathize with Donal more, but he makes it hard:
His hands closed more tightly upon her arms. Too tightly; Aislinn cried out, and he loosed her only with great effort. “You push me too far,” he warned through gritted teeth. “Both of you—pushing and pushing and pushing, pulling me this way and that—dividing my loyalties. What would you have me do?—divide myself in two? Give each of you half of me? What good would that do for you? Salve your wounded pride?”
“Give up—” Aislinn stopped dead. The color drained out of her face.
“Give up Sorcha? Is that what you meant to say?” Donal shook his head, knowing only he wanted to go away from it all. “I would sooner give up myself.” He laughed a little, albeit with a bitter tone. “For all that, it might be easier.”
Gosh, dude, I'm sorry that the sixteen year old girl you've known you had to marry since age eight, and the woman who you CHOSE to get involved with, who happens to be very anti-Homanan, are making you miserable.
You're literally the only one who has a choice in this matter. You're CHOOSING to make this difficult for yourself. It's harsh, but Aislinn's right. There's ONE way to make this simpler, since you're not willing to do that, you're stuck with the fucking consequences.
Aislinn stared at the ground as if she wished it would swallow her up. The sun was blazing off the red-gold of her hair. “I had no right to ask it. I know it. You have told me how it is with—meijhas and cheysulas. But—I will not lie to you. I want you for myself.” Her head came up and she challenged him with a stare. “She has had you longer, but I will have you yet.”
Donal is annoyingly patronizing, saying that she and Sorcha sing the same song, and under other circumstances might be friends. Then he remembers Sorcha's "prejudice".
I don't really think "prejudice" is the right word for a traumatized genocide survivor, to be honest. As I said before, I don't remotely blame Sorcha for her feelings. I blame Donal who chose to string her along like this.
And I still think this is proof that at least SOME Cheysuli women are not okay with the Cheysula/Meijha thing.
Anyway, there's a baby's cry, and Aislinn walks away regally. Donal knows she wants to run. Donal can fuck the fuck off.
--
So he goes back in. Alix is too busy with Sorcha, who is asleep, to notice at first. Then she introduces him to his new daughter. I'm not sure why Roberson had Sorcha so certain that it was a son. People are wrong all the time in the real world, but generally in a story, that kind of thing should mean something.
There's a brief Raissa mention. She'd helped Alix give birth to Donal. She's apparently been dead a long time though. I wonder if Finn got to see his mother before she died. By the way, the baby may have just proved my complaint wrong. She's got black hair. and apparently her father's coloring.
We get some Alix description finally:
“Let them sleep. Later, you may hold the girl.” Alix rose, shaking out her rose-red skirts. Donal saw the faint shine of silver threads in Alix’s dark brown hair and realized his mother, like Finn and Carillon, also aged. But less dramatically. Her skin was still smooth, still stretched taut over classic Cheysuli bones, and when she smiled it lit her amber eyes. “It makes one aware of one’s own transience, man or woman, and how seemingly unimportant are such things as dynastic marriages when a son or daughter is born,” she said gently. “Does it not?”
She'd heard Donal and Aislinn, but not the full conversation. And I'm realizing how very quick Sorcha's labor was. Lucky.
There's some lovely botanical description of the keep:
He walked with her to the perimeter of the Keep, along the moss-grown wall. Unmortared, it afforded all manner of vegetation the opportunity to plant roots into cracks and crannies, digging between the stones. Ivy, deep red and deeper green, mantled the wall against the sunlight. Twining flowers climbed up the runners and formed delicate ornamentation; jewels within the folds of the velvet gown. He smelled wet moss and old stone; the perfume of the place he knew as home. Not Homana-Mujhar. Not the rose-red walls and marbled halls, hung about with brilliant banners. No, not for him.
Even though it would be.
Alix explains that Aislinn has loved Donal since she was old enough to understand the concept. She suggests Donal knew it too. Yes, but he thought she'd outgrow it.
...why? Why would she outgrow it, when it's perfectly convenient for her to love her betrothed?! I don't see you outgrowing Sorcha.
Alix says the same thing actually:
“Why should she? Do you not wish for love in this marriage?” At his frown, his mother laughed. “Oh, I know—the Cheysuli do not speak of love, seeking to keep such things impossibly private. But you will have to learn to deal with it, Donal, as your jehan and su’fali did.” When he said nothing, having no answer for her, Alix caught his right hand and stopped him beside the wall. She turned the hand over until the palm was face-up and the strong brown fingers lay open. “With this hand you will hold Homana,” she said evenly. “You are the hope of the Cheysuli, Donal, and a link in the prophecy. Deny this marriage and you deny your heritage.”
THANK YOU ALIX.
Donal says that Sorcha says differently: that the marriage will force him to turn his back on his heritage. Yes, because Sorcha is an expert in such things, rather than a clearly traumatized and understandably angry survivor of genocide.
I'd like Donal more if he weren't so self-servingly stupid.
Alix notes that Sorcha is bitter. Donal says she never was before. But I highly doubt his reliability there. Alix suggests that, while Sorcha has known Donal would marry Aislinn, she'd been able to set it aside. Now she can't.
We have another Roberson conversation:
“She hates Aislinn. That, I think, I can readily understand; I do know what jealousy is. But—jehana, she hates the Homanans as well.” Again he shook his head. “How do I deal with that, when I am meant to be Mujhar?”
Alix cupped the blossom in her hands. “A violet flower among the white is easily plucked, Donal. Easily crushed and broken. There is no protection from the others when your coloring is different.” She lifted her head and looked at him instead of the flower. “I do not speak of blond hair and green eyes. I speak of blood, and the knowledge of what one is. Prejudiced, aye, because she is more Cheysuli than Homanan—and yet no one will give her that.”
These ideas do not connect, Roberson. Donal wants to know what to do. Alix is explaining why Sorcha is the way she is. And maybe that's valid and worth discussing, but it's not what was asked.
Donal points out Alix is half Homanan, and she states that she still feels mostly Homanan. She thinks Sorcha does too, though her logic seems pretty racist in its own right?
“It does not matter.” She lifted the fragile blossom. “This flower is violet. It bloomed this color. It will never be able to claim itself another color, no matter how hard it tries.” She smiled and let the blossom fall to the ground, where it settled into the trembling carpet of snow-white blooms. “Once it might have been purple. But never will it be white.”
But Sorcha IS Cheysuli, that's the problem. There's nothing about her values or her passion that is Homanan. She may have been treated like an outsider because of her looks, but Alix is acting like she's inherently different because she's white-passing.
I can't figure out if we're supposed to agree with Alix or not here. Or if Roberson agrees, but it does add a disturbing element to the fact that there are no female characters that have Cheysuli physical traits. Later we'll see a few women with the dark complexion and yellow eyes, but the ones that come to mind are adversaries. Villains. Or victims/accomplices of villains.
Meanwhile every single heroic female character, as well as happy ending romances look like white women. I'm not sure what that means, but it's uncomfortable.
Anyway, Donal thinks his situation is the same as Sorcha's. He'll be the violet flower in Homana. Alix has a great response:
“No,” she said. “But why wish to fit in when one must rule?”
A pretty good point, and I think maybe it's what Carillon really intends. But that said, no, it's not the same, Donal. You're a Cheysuli man who is about to become king. You're not a Cheysuli woman who is afraid of losing her husband to the people who committed genocide against her people.
--
Now we get to meet Ian. Full disclosure, I adore Ian already. I remember, as a kid, that Ian was one of my two favorite characters in the second half of the series. (Brennan is the other. I have weird tastes.) Now granted, FINN was my favorite in the first half. And F'lar my favorite in Pern, so my recollection is suspect.
But we'll find out in the next book when Ian is an adult. Here, he's an adorable three year old who is being introduced to his baby sister. It's Sorcha's turn to name the child, since Donal named Ian. She names her Isolde.
I wonder if she'll have a tragic romance next book.
Meghan comes over too, and, given Alix's speech earlier, this is interesting:
Meghan, who had brought Ian soon after Donal had returned to his pavilion, moved forward and craned her neck to peer over Donal’s shoulder. “Black hair,” she said, “and brown eyes, which will lighten soon enough. A Cheysuli, then, with little Homanan about her.”
Sorcha’s smile widened, and Donal saw triumph in her eyes even as she closed them.
Meghan is matter-of-fact, not bitter, and it's interesting because, as mentioned, she's the image of Tourmaline. Yet she lived among the clans with a jehan who was clan-leader, and she felt no lack that she bore Homanan blood in her veins. No lack at all. If anything, she was more Cheysuli than most because Finn saw to it she was.
Donal thinks, a bit creepily, that Meghan will definitely not have a Homanan marriage, Finn will "wed her to a warrior", but she'll have more than enough to choose from.
It's fascinating to me that Roberson will write things like that and then tell us how the Cheysuli are much better because they don't do the arranged marriage thing.
I think it's interesting that Donal uses the word "wed" here. There doesn't seem to be the possibility that Meghan would be a meijha instead. But tell me again how they're equal.
Anyway, it's time for Donal to head back. Adorably, Ian asks if "we" go, but Donal tells him he must stay behind. Poor kid has had all of two seconds with his dad. I suppose it's not really fair of me to criticize Donal for it, since he did promise to have Aislinn back before nightfall. But I'm not inclined to be fair to him.
Lorn thinks that Donal having a "cub and a bitch" is symmetrical. Donal thinks there's nothing wolf like about the children. Unless the boy bonds with a wolf, Lorn suggests, which intrigues Donal. Do the lir know who a child will bond with?
(Spoiler: Ian's lir will be a big panther-type cat named Tasha. So no.)
Lorn also says no, such things are left to the gods. Taj suggests he might have a falcon, and this is cute, like uncles discussing which of them a child might take after. Donal thinks he might like a hawk, to honor his grandsire.
"As you do yours?" asks Lorn, and he's referring to Donal someday wielding Hale's sword.
The moment is interrupted as he approaches Sef and Bronwyn. Bronwyn, we're told, "lack[s] conscious knowledge of her femininity" in contrast to Meghan and Aislinn. She moves and acts more like a boy, though Donal thinks she'll outgrow it.
This bugs me a bit:
Now, as she laughed and chattered with Sef, he saw how she would lack the pure beauty Meghan and Aislinn already began to claim, but her light would be undiminished. She was his mother come again.
And who else? his conscience asked. Is her jehan in her as well?
For fuck's sake, leave your sister alone.
But then he sees something alarming. Apparently Bronwyn and Sef had been drawing pictures in the dirt...but they're not pictures after all, they're runes. And not Cheysuli runes. Bronwyn immediately obscures them when she sees Donal watching.
When she asks if she can see the baby, Donal is short with her:
“No.” He almost cursed his shortness. “Not—now. She is sleeping. So is Sorcha. They need time alone.” He saw how her bright face fell. “Later, rujholla.” And she was his sister, for all she was Tynstar’s daughter; he hated to disappoint her. She had had no say in what man sired her.
But he dared not give her the chance to prove herself Ihlini.
Slowly the color spilled out of her face. “What is wrong? Is it something I have done? You are so short—”
“No.” Again, he said it more sharply than he intended. Against his will, he looked once more at the runes she had drawn in the dust and then tried to obscure. Odd, alien runes, with the look of sorcery.
He asks about the runes. She says it's a game, and they took an oath not to tell.
Okay, admittedly, that's a bit creepy.
Finally Finn comes out, with Aislinn. Donal gives Ian to him, and he settles him comfortably. I remember Finn in Song wanting a son. He seems content with his daughter, and playing surrogate dad for Donal though. I'm glad to see that.
And then, a moment that makes my shipper heart glad:
Finn reached out and caught one rein. “How does Carillon fare?”
Donal fills him in, on his age and condition. Finn notes that Tynstar didn't really do anything to cause the illness, he just brought it prematurely. There's nothing they can do about it.
Finn sighed. “No doubt there are reasons for it, Donal. The gods do nothing without them.” Abruptly he slapped the stallion’s shoulder. “Go back, then. See Aislinn safely to her jehan. Do not tarry here longer if Carillon is waiting.”
He serves him still…he would not admit it, but he does. In his heart, if nowhere else. He shifted in the saddle. “Aye, su’fali. Have you a message for him?”
Finn lifted a hand to block out the blinding sunlight. “Aye,” he said. “Tell him I will come to Homana-Mujhar.”
UM.
Will you, by chance, maybe, get a room?
Anyway, Finn has decided that he'll be attending his nephew's wedding. Donal suggests that even the servants miss Finn. Finn thinks they miss the stories they told about him and want fresh fodder.
I know I suggested this before, but I'm going with it. All of Shapechangers? The gross real person fanfic of the servants in the palace. That's why it's so racist and non-consensually kinky. It's why the Cheysuli are all okay with rape, and the role of women sucks so hard.
Sef looks intently down at Bronwyn and says perhaps he'll see her again. Bronwyn, whose amber eyes look almost yellow, tells him to come back or she'll come to Homana-Mujhar.
Aislinn wants both Bronwyn and Meghan to come, actually. When she's queen, she'll have to have women by her. She'd have them.
...why doesn't she have women NOW? Since when do princesses not have ladies in waiting? or at least a few servants.
Finn doesn't like this at all:
Finn frowned at once. “Meghan does not belong at court. Her place is in the Keep.”
“Jehan,” the girl protested softly. “If Aislinn needs me there, of course I will go.”
His tone was implacable. “This Keep is your home, Meghan. Homana-Mujhar would stifle you.”
“Could I not learn it for myself?” She put a slim hand on his bare arm, and Donal saw how already she claimed a woman’s gentle guile. “The Keep will always be my home, just as it is yours. But did you not spend years out of it?”
“Aye,” Finn said harshly. “And you have heard what such folly brought me.” His eyes were on Aislinn, but his tone indicated it was not the girl he saw. “The witch may no longer be there…but her memory survives.”
Why must you make things creepy, Donal? "A woman's gentle guile." Ew.
But I rather like the Finn-Meghan dynamic here. He's being over-protective. But she's calmly asserting herself. Notice how she's actually getting to argue here, albeit softly. And notice how he's actually ANSWERING her rather than dismissing her. (Poor Aislinn. Again. In so many ways.)
It's interesting to contrast Meghan and Aislinn here too. Like Aislinn, she's Gwyneth's granddaughter. Tourmaline is her mother. And it's clear that she's also inherited that calm, thoughtful dignity. But now that we see Meghan, Aislinn's feels a lot more brittle. Admittedly, Meghan's not under nearly as much stress. But it also seems like Meghan has a parent who won't send her to a scary sorceress for two years. So there you go.
The chapter ends here, so we don't see how the discussion continues. I feel like I remember seeing Meghan in Homana-Mujhar later though, so I presume she actually won. Good for her.
We rejoin Donal as he leaves the pavilion to find Bronwyn conversing with Sef. Oh, sorry, you don't know who Bronwyn is. She hasn't been mentioned until now. This is her introduction:
Donal stepped outside the pavilion, glad to feel the fresh air again, and found his sister in deep conversation with Sef. In all excitement of having Aislinn tested by Finn, he had forgotten Bronwyn entirely. He had not seen her for longer than he cared to admit. But then, he put her from his mind as often as he could.
No. Not Bronwyn. What Bronwyn could become.
She turned as he stepped out. She resembled their mother mostly, with Alix’s amber eyes and lighter complexion, but her hair was Cheysuli black.
Or Ihlini black. In that she could take after Tynstar.
I think this book forgot about Bronwyn entirely until now. But yes, Bronwyn is Donal's sister. Remember how Alix got kidnapped by Tynstar and came back pregnant? Poor Bronwyn is the result.
Donal tells us that he can't remember exactly when he learned of Bronwyn's parentage, which is a nice save for the fact that they probably didn't need to tell him at any age. Especially when Bronwyn herself doesn't know. She's not shown any signs of Ihlini gifts yet, but she's moody. The lir can't give any help either. They can only detect her Cheysuli heritage.
We're told that no one but Alix, Finn, Carillon, Sorcha and Donal know.
WAIT A SECOND. Okay, obviously Alix told Carillon. We were there for that. Finn probably needed to know, as clan leader. Donal...I still think Donal didn't have to know, but I suppose the logic is that as eventual king, he probably does need to know about possible threats.
But why the Hell does Donal's mistress have to know?!
Anyway, Bronwyn's wardrobe choice is rife with symbolism:
She wore a gown of deepest purple trimmed with wine-red yarn in a linked pattern of animals. Birds and bears and cats promenaded at collar and cuffs. The front of her skirts was hooked over the tops of her leather boots, as if she had been running. As it was Bronwyn, she probably had been. She rarely ever walked.
She is wild. So wild. Someone else might say it was the recklessness of girlhood. But—I cannot help but wonder if there is more to it than that.
And this is why they really shouldn't have told Donal. He lacks any kind of subtlety or sympathy. Donal notices that Sef seems very attentive to Bronwyn, and having seen young boys impressed with young girls before, thinks that he'd spill more to her than anyone else if she asked. Interestingly, Aislinn doesn't seem to be without allies here:
“Then I leave you in companionship to one another,” he told them. “I have private business now.”
“With Sorcha?” Bronwyn asked as he turned to go.
Donal abruptly turned back. Bronwyn as well as anyone in the Keep knew what he shared with Sorcha. She knew also he was betrothed to Aislinn; it was common knowledge in the clans. But Bronwyn was Aislinn’s friend, and he did not doubt she felt conflicting loyalties nearly as much as he did, if in a different way.
...maybe Bronwyn realizes that, given that you've been betrothed since the age of eight, entering into a full on all-but-marriage with another woman is cruel and unfair to both of them?
I'm sure I'm supposed to find it noble when Donal asks Bronwyn to give Aislinn what comfort she can, but it really just seems like he's foisting his job onto her. Bronwyn seems to have a good idea of what Aislinn is unwilling to say:
“Aislinn loves you,” Bronwyn told him. “When we are together—here or at the palace—she tells me how you make her feel.” Abruptly she looked away, embarrassed. “Donal—I know what there is between meijha and warrior…but I do not think Aislinn does. The Homanans do not share.”
Donal flicked a glance at Sef. The boy listened, but he did so from behind a tactful mask. That much he had learned of royal customs.
“Aislinn must learn,” Donal said finally, knowing he sounded colder than he felt; not knowing how else to sound. “You learned. Meghan learned.”
I feel guilty saying this, because the Cheysuli were all but wiped out, but it bugs me that it's constantly all about Aislinn having to adapt to Cheysuli customs. I'm not saying Donal has to abandon Sorcha and Ian, but he has to realize that he's going to be king of HOMANA. He's not going to be able to live at the Keep. And the Homanans who supposedly won't even let Carillon divorce Electra are not going to understand this. He's in a snaggle now, and I'm not sure he appreciates how much.
And it's annoying because it was probably avoidable.
Anyway, Bronwyn points out that she and Meghan were raised Cheysuli. Aislinn wasn't. Donal asks what she would do, since she's almost the same age as Aislinn. Dude, did you not hear her point out that she's raised CHEYSULI?
Bronwyn clearly had never considered it. She looked thoughtful, then shrugged and spread her hands. Her expression was deeply troubled. “I have been taught a warrior may have both meijha and cheysula. It is difficult for me to think of it differently. But—I have heard how Aislinn speaks of you, and how she dreams of the wedding and the marriage—” Bronwyn stopped short as anguish filled her eyes. “Oh rujho, be gentle with her. I think she will never understand.”
I think she had considered it. When she JUST SAID that it's different for her and Meghan because she was raised Cheysuli. DONAL is the one who didn't consider this, as is evident by his "oh gods" in response, as he leaves.
And it still bugs me that this sort-of polyamory only works one way. Can a woman have a cheysul and whatever the male equivalent of meijha is? I'm guessing not, seeing as how we don't have a male equivalent word for meijha.
I also wonder if part of Donal's problem is that he doesn't want Sorcha as a MISTRESS, he wants her as a wife. Hell, she's in a pavilion painted with a wolf and falcon. Where do women live if they are neither cheysula or meijha?
They do seem to have a very warm relationship:
A slim hand caught the edge of the tapestry curtain dividing the sleeping area from the front section of the pavilion. He saw Sorcha’s face as she pulled the curtain back, and the hugeness of her belly.
“Gods,” he said in surprise, having lost track of the months upon sight of her. “Are you certain you will not burst?”
Sorcha laughed, splaying one hand across her swollen belly. “No more than I did the last time.”
Ian's with Meghan. Apparently Bronwyn offered to babysit but...
He knew what she would not say, because she had no wish to hurt him. And he did not blame her for her growing distrust of his sister. None of them could afford to trust too much to an Ihlini, no matter how she was raised.
Except for my jehana.
...you know, this is why it doesn't make sense that you told your mistress about Bronwyn, dude. Also, poor Bronwyn, growing up with this distrust and never knowing why. The ONLY person who has the right to judge the poor girl is Alix. Who apparently DOES trust her daughter.
Sorcha is having some sharp pains. She thinks it's another boy, and he's coming soon. VERY SOON. As in contractions. NOW.
Donal offers to fetch Alix, but...
“Not yet,” she answered breathlessly. “Soon. But I want to share you with no one for at least a little while.” Her eyes were green. Half Homanan, Sorcha showed no Cheysuli blood. But she had been born and raised in the clan, and her customs were all Cheysuli. “Aislinn is here,” she said.
You know what bugs me about this series. We have three female culturally Cheysuli characters introduced in quick succession. That's great, by the way. I don't mind that. BUT...Bronwyn is pale, like Alix herself. Sorcha is a green-eyed blond. Meghan, as we'll see, is practically a young double of Tourmaline.
We're three books in, and the only female Cheysuli character that we've met that actually looks Cheysuli is Raissa. Isn't that weird?
Anyway, Donal notices that Sorcha sounds bitter, and there's an underlying hostility in her tone that he'd never heard before. OH REALLY, YOU THINK. He would have questioned her about it, but he saw how her face stretched taut with effort. Her hand clung to his as he knelt beside the pallet.
...yes, thank you for not grilling the pregnant woman who is in labor. What a prince you are.
Sorcha does want to talk about Aislinn and her own issues.
He brushed hair out of his face. The urgency in her tone worried him. “Gods, Sorcha—this is nonsense…there are better times to speak of this—”
“No better time.” Her fingers were locked on his hand. “I have borne you two sons and now perhaps another. I would bear you more willingly; I would do anything you asked me to.” She swallowed visibly. “But I will not give you up. I will not let you be swallowed up by that witch’s Homanan daughter.”
“Sorcha—you are half Homanan,” he reminded her mildly.
Sweat glistened at her temples. “And I would open my veins if I thought it would purge me of my Homanan blood. I would cut off a hand if I thought it would relieve me of the taint. But it would not—it would not—and all I can do is look at my son and thank the gods he has so little Homanan in him.” She sucked in a breath against the pain. “Gods, Donal—I hate the Homanan in me! I would trade anything to claim myself all Cheysuli—”
So there is a lot of interesting stuff to unpack here:
a) Tell me again how it's fine to have both meijha and cheysula, and how both are equal and good. Sorcha is as unhappy about it as Aislinn is, and while a lot of that is due to the Homanan part, it's also true that she fears Aislinn's claim BECAUSE Aislinn will be Donal's wife.
b) Sorcha's situation is pretty fascinating. And terrible. It makes perfect since that a young half-Homanan who grew up among the Cheysuli would hate the side of her that committed the purge. Especially if she was also, as seems likely, a child of rape.
(Though given what we saw in Shapechangers, it seems fairly likely that Sorcha was born because her Cheysuli father kidnapped and raped her Homanan mother rather than the reverse.)
Donal points out that there's Homanan in him as well, and her response...
“Gods!” she cried. “It is not the same with you. You are the chosen—you are the one we have waited for—you are the one with the proper blood who will take the Lion from Homana and give it back to the Cheysuli—” She shut her mouth on a cry of pain and bit deeply into her lip. Her fingers dug into the flesh of his hand. “Oh Donal, do you see? You will leave us all behind. You will turn your back on your clan. They will make you into a toy for the Homanans—” Sorcha writhed against the pallet. “Never forget you are Cheysuli. Never forget you are a warrior. Never forget who sired you…and do not allow the witch’s daughter to turn you against your heritage with her Homanan ways—”
...I'm starting to feel like this isn't a very healthy dynamic, and Sorcha maybe should have gotten some kind of counseling a long time ago.
Assuming the Cheysuli have such things. Which they probably don't.
Anyway, it is an interesting contrast. Alix and Sorcha, and Meghan for that matter, are all half Homanan and half Cheysuli. Alix was raised Homanan and chooses to be Cheysuli. Sorcha is raised Cheysuli and is a fanatic. Meghan is raised Cheysuli, but is apparently Aislinn's friend, if we remember what Finn said. So presumably, she's a bit more open-minded.
Rowan is full Cheysuli, but completely culturally Homanan. It would be interesting if they met.
For the record, I don't blame Sorcha one bit. Her feelings are completely understandable. But it makes her a really poor choice for mistress to a mixed-race man who has to marry a Homanan woman and has to inherit a Homanan throne.
Now Sorcha's attitude is interesting for another reason, because it's a precursor to a challenge that will arise in later books. There will be factions of Cheysuli with Sorcha's attitude, and I like that, because no group should be a monolith. Here, we're seeing the seeds. It's not a big deal now, since Donal is their chosen one, who will take the throne as a Cheysuli.
But what about when Donal's heir takes the throne? Presumably that will be his and Aislinn's child. A child that will be, ethnically speaking, more Homanan than Cheysuli. That might not be a problem normally, but what if Donal had another son who is more ethnically Cheysuli, and in Cheysuli eyes, equally as legitimate. And who was firstborn.
This relationship with Sorcha is not just cruel to both women, it's also politically fucking stupid.
Anyway, the exchange gets heated. Donal FINALLY acknowledges that he can't rule Homana from the Keep, and Sorcha accuses Homana/Carillon of stealing him and Carillon making Donal his son instead of Duncan's. She begs him to make the lion Cheysuli again.
...you know, Donal, if you HAD to fall in love with a Cheysuli woman, could you at least have picked someone who isn't an anti-Homanan extremist? How did you choose the WORST WOMAN POSSIBLE as a mistress?!
...well, that's not fair. Electra would probably be a worse choice. Probably.
Anyway, she starts crying out, and her belly rolls and that sounds disgusting and terrifying and I am so glad I will never be pregnant. Donal summons Alix through Taj. ALIX!!!
We don't have time to say hi. Though we're told that she's still slim in a rose-red gown, which is a weird observation for Donal to make. It's good for us to know Alix hasn't gotten old and fat yet, I guess, but Donal's presumably seen his mother fairly recently. Anyway, she gently but firmly kicks Donal out.
And that's when he comes face to face with Aislinn, who looks pale. Understandably.
She tells him that Finn wouldn't tell her where Donal was, but Bronwyn told her the truth. She wanted to meet her rival.
She was all vulnerability, suddenly fragile in the light; pale lily on a slender stalk with a trembling, delicate bloom. But she was also pride; a little bruised, a trifle shaken, but pride nonetheless. As much as claimed by any Cheysuli.
I'm reminded suddenly of Song of Homana. Carillon's fixation on Electra really did seem to be a transference of his feelings for Finn sometimes, given his focus on her pride and arrogance.
Anyway, he tells her it's not the time, and she realizes what's happening:
From the pavilion there came the muted cry of a woman in labor, and Aislinn’s gray eyes widened. “The baby—! You told me the child was due—” She broke off, covering her mouth with one hand, and her eyes filled up with tears. But almost as quickly she blinked them away. “No,” she said. “My mother told me tears are not the way to win a man’s regard. Strength, she said, and determination…and the magic of every woman born—”
Oh, poor Aislinn.
We get another nonsequitur here:
“Then how can I turn your affections to me?” she interrupted. “Can I leash you, like a hound? Can I hood you, like a hawk? Can I bridle you, like a horse?” Her body was rigid under his hands. “Or do I give you over to freedom, and know I have lost you forever?”
He heard Sorcha’s warning sounding in his head: —do not allow the witch’s daughter to turn you against your heritage—
“No,” he said aloud. “I am Cheysuli first.”
The fuck dude? Aislinn is frustrated at knowing her betrothed is in love with someone else. It's not about race!
Aislinn asks if he's Homanan last, and if this is the heir her Homanan father chose.
Yes, actually. And to give Carillon credit, I think he did intend that. I don't think he wants to turn Donal Homanan. He WANTS Homana ruled by Cheysuli.
I SHOULD sympathize with Donal more, but he makes it hard:
His hands closed more tightly upon her arms. Too tightly; Aislinn cried out, and he loosed her only with great effort. “You push me too far,” he warned through gritted teeth. “Both of you—pushing and pushing and pushing, pulling me this way and that—dividing my loyalties. What would you have me do?—divide myself in two? Give each of you half of me? What good would that do for you? Salve your wounded pride?”
“Give up—” Aislinn stopped dead. The color drained out of her face.
“Give up Sorcha? Is that what you meant to say?” Donal shook his head, knowing only he wanted to go away from it all. “I would sooner give up myself.” He laughed a little, albeit with a bitter tone. “For all that, it might be easier.”
Gosh, dude, I'm sorry that the sixteen year old girl you've known you had to marry since age eight, and the woman who you CHOSE to get involved with, who happens to be very anti-Homanan, are making you miserable.
You're literally the only one who has a choice in this matter. You're CHOOSING to make this difficult for yourself. It's harsh, but Aislinn's right. There's ONE way to make this simpler, since you're not willing to do that, you're stuck with the fucking consequences.
Aislinn stared at the ground as if she wished it would swallow her up. The sun was blazing off the red-gold of her hair. “I had no right to ask it. I know it. You have told me how it is with—meijhas and cheysulas. But—I will not lie to you. I want you for myself.” Her head came up and she challenged him with a stare. “She has had you longer, but I will have you yet.”
Donal is annoyingly patronizing, saying that she and Sorcha sing the same song, and under other circumstances might be friends. Then he remembers Sorcha's "prejudice".
I don't really think "prejudice" is the right word for a traumatized genocide survivor, to be honest. As I said before, I don't remotely blame Sorcha for her feelings. I blame Donal who chose to string her along like this.
And I still think this is proof that at least SOME Cheysuli women are not okay with the Cheysula/Meijha thing.
Anyway, there's a baby's cry, and Aislinn walks away regally. Donal knows she wants to run. Donal can fuck the fuck off.
--
So he goes back in. Alix is too busy with Sorcha, who is asleep, to notice at first. Then she introduces him to his new daughter. I'm not sure why Roberson had Sorcha so certain that it was a son. People are wrong all the time in the real world, but generally in a story, that kind of thing should mean something.
There's a brief Raissa mention. She'd helped Alix give birth to Donal. She's apparently been dead a long time though. I wonder if Finn got to see his mother before she died. By the way, the baby may have just proved my complaint wrong. She's got black hair. and apparently her father's coloring.
We get some Alix description finally:
“Let them sleep. Later, you may hold the girl.” Alix rose, shaking out her rose-red skirts. Donal saw the faint shine of silver threads in Alix’s dark brown hair and realized his mother, like Finn and Carillon, also aged. But less dramatically. Her skin was still smooth, still stretched taut over classic Cheysuli bones, and when she smiled it lit her amber eyes. “It makes one aware of one’s own transience, man or woman, and how seemingly unimportant are such things as dynastic marriages when a son or daughter is born,” she said gently. “Does it not?”
She'd heard Donal and Aislinn, but not the full conversation. And I'm realizing how very quick Sorcha's labor was. Lucky.
There's some lovely botanical description of the keep:
He walked with her to the perimeter of the Keep, along the moss-grown wall. Unmortared, it afforded all manner of vegetation the opportunity to plant roots into cracks and crannies, digging between the stones. Ivy, deep red and deeper green, mantled the wall against the sunlight. Twining flowers climbed up the runners and formed delicate ornamentation; jewels within the folds of the velvet gown. He smelled wet moss and old stone; the perfume of the place he knew as home. Not Homana-Mujhar. Not the rose-red walls and marbled halls, hung about with brilliant banners. No, not for him.
Even though it would be.
Alix explains that Aislinn has loved Donal since she was old enough to understand the concept. She suggests Donal knew it too. Yes, but he thought she'd outgrow it.
...why? Why would she outgrow it, when it's perfectly convenient for her to love her betrothed?! I don't see you outgrowing Sorcha.
Alix says the same thing actually:
“Why should she? Do you not wish for love in this marriage?” At his frown, his mother laughed. “Oh, I know—the Cheysuli do not speak of love, seeking to keep such things impossibly private. But you will have to learn to deal with it, Donal, as your jehan and su’fali did.” When he said nothing, having no answer for her, Alix caught his right hand and stopped him beside the wall. She turned the hand over until the palm was face-up and the strong brown fingers lay open. “With this hand you will hold Homana,” she said evenly. “You are the hope of the Cheysuli, Donal, and a link in the prophecy. Deny this marriage and you deny your heritage.”
THANK YOU ALIX.
Donal says that Sorcha says differently: that the marriage will force him to turn his back on his heritage. Yes, because Sorcha is an expert in such things, rather than a clearly traumatized and understandably angry survivor of genocide.
I'd like Donal more if he weren't so self-servingly stupid.
Alix notes that Sorcha is bitter. Donal says she never was before. But I highly doubt his reliability there. Alix suggests that, while Sorcha has known Donal would marry Aislinn, she'd been able to set it aside. Now she can't.
We have another Roberson conversation:
“She hates Aislinn. That, I think, I can readily understand; I do know what jealousy is. But—jehana, she hates the Homanans as well.” Again he shook his head. “How do I deal with that, when I am meant to be Mujhar?”
Alix cupped the blossom in her hands. “A violet flower among the white is easily plucked, Donal. Easily crushed and broken. There is no protection from the others when your coloring is different.” She lifted her head and looked at him instead of the flower. “I do not speak of blond hair and green eyes. I speak of blood, and the knowledge of what one is. Prejudiced, aye, because she is more Cheysuli than Homanan—and yet no one will give her that.”
These ideas do not connect, Roberson. Donal wants to know what to do. Alix is explaining why Sorcha is the way she is. And maybe that's valid and worth discussing, but it's not what was asked.
Donal points out Alix is half Homanan, and she states that she still feels mostly Homanan. She thinks Sorcha does too, though her logic seems pretty racist in its own right?
“It does not matter.” She lifted the fragile blossom. “This flower is violet. It bloomed this color. It will never be able to claim itself another color, no matter how hard it tries.” She smiled and let the blossom fall to the ground, where it settled into the trembling carpet of snow-white blooms. “Once it might have been purple. But never will it be white.”
But Sorcha IS Cheysuli, that's the problem. There's nothing about her values or her passion that is Homanan. She may have been treated like an outsider because of her looks, but Alix is acting like she's inherently different because she's white-passing.
I can't figure out if we're supposed to agree with Alix or not here. Or if Roberson agrees, but it does add a disturbing element to the fact that there are no female characters that have Cheysuli physical traits. Later we'll see a few women with the dark complexion and yellow eyes, but the ones that come to mind are adversaries. Villains. Or victims/accomplices of villains.
Meanwhile every single heroic female character, as well as happy ending romances look like white women. I'm not sure what that means, but it's uncomfortable.
Anyway, Donal thinks his situation is the same as Sorcha's. He'll be the violet flower in Homana. Alix has a great response:
“No,” she said. “But why wish to fit in when one must rule?”
A pretty good point, and I think maybe it's what Carillon really intends. But that said, no, it's not the same, Donal. You're a Cheysuli man who is about to become king. You're not a Cheysuli woman who is afraid of losing her husband to the people who committed genocide against her people.
--
Now we get to meet Ian. Full disclosure, I adore Ian already. I remember, as a kid, that Ian was one of my two favorite characters in the second half of the series. (Brennan is the other. I have weird tastes.) Now granted, FINN was my favorite in the first half. And F'lar my favorite in Pern, so my recollection is suspect.
But we'll find out in the next book when Ian is an adult. Here, he's an adorable three year old who is being introduced to his baby sister. It's Sorcha's turn to name the child, since Donal named Ian. She names her Isolde.
I wonder if she'll have a tragic romance next book.
Meghan comes over too, and, given Alix's speech earlier, this is interesting:
Meghan, who had brought Ian soon after Donal had returned to his pavilion, moved forward and craned her neck to peer over Donal’s shoulder. “Black hair,” she said, “and brown eyes, which will lighten soon enough. A Cheysuli, then, with little Homanan about her.”
Sorcha’s smile widened, and Donal saw triumph in her eyes even as she closed them.
Meghan is matter-of-fact, not bitter, and it's interesting because, as mentioned, she's the image of Tourmaline. Yet she lived among the clans with a jehan who was clan-leader, and she felt no lack that she bore Homanan blood in her veins. No lack at all. If anything, she was more Cheysuli than most because Finn saw to it she was.
Donal thinks, a bit creepily, that Meghan will definitely not have a Homanan marriage, Finn will "wed her to a warrior", but she'll have more than enough to choose from.
It's fascinating to me that Roberson will write things like that and then tell us how the Cheysuli are much better because they don't do the arranged marriage thing.
I think it's interesting that Donal uses the word "wed" here. There doesn't seem to be the possibility that Meghan would be a meijha instead. But tell me again how they're equal.
Anyway, it's time for Donal to head back. Adorably, Ian asks if "we" go, but Donal tells him he must stay behind. Poor kid has had all of two seconds with his dad. I suppose it's not really fair of me to criticize Donal for it, since he did promise to have Aislinn back before nightfall. But I'm not inclined to be fair to him.
Lorn thinks that Donal having a "cub and a bitch" is symmetrical. Donal thinks there's nothing wolf like about the children. Unless the boy bonds with a wolf, Lorn suggests, which intrigues Donal. Do the lir know who a child will bond with?
(Spoiler: Ian's lir will be a big panther-type cat named Tasha. So no.)
Lorn also says no, such things are left to the gods. Taj suggests he might have a falcon, and this is cute, like uncles discussing which of them a child might take after. Donal thinks he might like a hawk, to honor his grandsire.
"As you do yours?" asks Lorn, and he's referring to Donal someday wielding Hale's sword.
The moment is interrupted as he approaches Sef and Bronwyn. Bronwyn, we're told, "lack[s] conscious knowledge of her femininity" in contrast to Meghan and Aislinn. She moves and acts more like a boy, though Donal thinks she'll outgrow it.
This bugs me a bit:
Now, as she laughed and chattered with Sef, he saw how she would lack the pure beauty Meghan and Aislinn already began to claim, but her light would be undiminished. She was his mother come again.
And who else? his conscience asked. Is her jehan in her as well?
For fuck's sake, leave your sister alone.
But then he sees something alarming. Apparently Bronwyn and Sef had been drawing pictures in the dirt...but they're not pictures after all, they're runes. And not Cheysuli runes. Bronwyn immediately obscures them when she sees Donal watching.
When she asks if she can see the baby, Donal is short with her:
“No.” He almost cursed his shortness. “Not—now. She is sleeping. So is Sorcha. They need time alone.” He saw how her bright face fell. “Later, rujholla.” And she was his sister, for all she was Tynstar’s daughter; he hated to disappoint her. She had had no say in what man sired her.
But he dared not give her the chance to prove herself Ihlini.
Slowly the color spilled out of her face. “What is wrong? Is it something I have done? You are so short—”
“No.” Again, he said it more sharply than he intended. Against his will, he looked once more at the runes she had drawn in the dust and then tried to obscure. Odd, alien runes, with the look of sorcery.
He asks about the runes. She says it's a game, and they took an oath not to tell.
Okay, admittedly, that's a bit creepy.
Finally Finn comes out, with Aislinn. Donal gives Ian to him, and he settles him comfortably. I remember Finn in Song wanting a son. He seems content with his daughter, and playing surrogate dad for Donal though. I'm glad to see that.
And then, a moment that makes my shipper heart glad:
Finn reached out and caught one rein. “How does Carillon fare?”
Donal fills him in, on his age and condition. Finn notes that Tynstar didn't really do anything to cause the illness, he just brought it prematurely. There's nothing they can do about it.
Finn sighed. “No doubt there are reasons for it, Donal. The gods do nothing without them.” Abruptly he slapped the stallion’s shoulder. “Go back, then. See Aislinn safely to her jehan. Do not tarry here longer if Carillon is waiting.”
He serves him still…he would not admit it, but he does. In his heart, if nowhere else. He shifted in the saddle. “Aye, su’fali. Have you a message for him?”
Finn lifted a hand to block out the blinding sunlight. “Aye,” he said. “Tell him I will come to Homana-Mujhar.”
UM.
Will you, by chance, maybe, get a room?
Anyway, Finn has decided that he'll be attending his nephew's wedding. Donal suggests that even the servants miss Finn. Finn thinks they miss the stories they told about him and want fresh fodder.
I know I suggested this before, but I'm going with it. All of Shapechangers? The gross real person fanfic of the servants in the palace. That's why it's so racist and non-consensually kinky. It's why the Cheysuli are all okay with rape, and the role of women sucks so hard.
Sef looks intently down at Bronwyn and says perhaps he'll see her again. Bronwyn, whose amber eyes look almost yellow, tells him to come back or she'll come to Homana-Mujhar.
Aislinn wants both Bronwyn and Meghan to come, actually. When she's queen, she'll have to have women by her. She'd have them.
...why doesn't she have women NOW? Since when do princesses not have ladies in waiting? or at least a few servants.
Finn doesn't like this at all:
Finn frowned at once. “Meghan does not belong at court. Her place is in the Keep.”
“Jehan,” the girl protested softly. “If Aislinn needs me there, of course I will go.”
His tone was implacable. “This Keep is your home, Meghan. Homana-Mujhar would stifle you.”
“Could I not learn it for myself?” She put a slim hand on his bare arm, and Donal saw how already she claimed a woman’s gentle guile. “The Keep will always be my home, just as it is yours. But did you not spend years out of it?”
“Aye,” Finn said harshly. “And you have heard what such folly brought me.” His eyes were on Aislinn, but his tone indicated it was not the girl he saw. “The witch may no longer be there…but her memory survives.”
Why must you make things creepy, Donal? "A woman's gentle guile." Ew.
But I rather like the Finn-Meghan dynamic here. He's being over-protective. But she's calmly asserting herself. Notice how she's actually getting to argue here, albeit softly. And notice how he's actually ANSWERING her rather than dismissing her. (Poor Aislinn. Again. In so many ways.)
It's interesting to contrast Meghan and Aislinn here too. Like Aislinn, she's Gwyneth's granddaughter. Tourmaline is her mother. And it's clear that she's also inherited that calm, thoughtful dignity. But now that we see Meghan, Aislinn's feels a lot more brittle. Admittedly, Meghan's not under nearly as much stress. But it also seems like Meghan has a parent who won't send her to a scary sorceress for two years. So there you go.
The chapter ends here, so we don't see how the discussion continues. I feel like I remember seeing Meghan in Homana-Mujhar later though, so I presume she actually won. Good for her.
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Date: 2021-07-05 03:53 am (UTC)It's amazing what an asshole Donal is, it really is. Suck it up, bud!
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Date: 2021-07-05 04:04 am (UTC)