Book 3 of Sons of Destiny
Thoughts from…
Note: These thoughts contain spoilers if you have not already read “The Master.”
Saber: Thank the Gods Dominor is safely back home. Now Saber can go back to worrying over Evanor’s lack of a voice, enjoying his wife’s company, and trying to decide if he’s comfortable letting this newcomer anywhere near the family books. For years, he’s been the one responsible for keeping track of their finances. If she’s as good an Arithmancer as Dominor says she is, then Saber might relax, but time will have to tell; she’s only just arrived.
Kelly: Yay, another woman in the family! And though Serina isn’t quite the sort of civilizing influence Kelly had pictured for the arrogant Dom, it does look like she’ll at least keep his hands full, having him chase her around, keeping track of anything she’s not focusing on.
Wolfer: More women on the island. Hm. More mouths to feed. Good thing they bought those cattle. Wolfer wonders what sort of influence Serina will be on his sweet Alys, since Kelly seemed to have a remarkably good effect, even for being a virago by nature.
Alys: My, she’s tall… Alys is amused by how Serina manages Dominor, even though she doesn’t seem to be doing it. Dom as a boy had been competitive, argumentative, proud, stubborn…Serina doesn’t seem to be leaving him time for his usual bouts of arrogance—he did tease Alys when he saw her once again, but she’s noticed he’s mellowed. The only way that could have happened would be if this Serina had pulled it off, which to Alys’ way of thinking is a good thing.
Dominor: Home at last! And with a woman capable of keeping him on his toes. Of course, there seemed to have been a lot of excitement he missed—he would have loved to have taken on Broger, retaliation-spell or not. Dominor could think of at least three other possible ways they could have gotten around that counter-assassination spell of his late, unlamented uncle’s. But that could be developed later. And there are the Mandarites to still consider; eventually someone would realize that, for an island supposedly filled with thousands of magic-using citizens, no one had tried to come to his rescue aside from a single person. Having been subjected to their fallacious philosophies, he knows they won’t give up the idea of finding more territory to conquer and resources to plunder, war being an expensive proposition.
But he is finally home, and he has his Lady with him, the woman who loves him, and the first child to be conceived among his brothers. Finally, he gets to be the first at something! First Father among the Corvis Brothers…yes, that has a very nice ring to it… One more problem stands in his way to complete happiness, and that is the restoration of Evanor’s voice. Dom isn’t too worried, though; Mariel seems like a competent Healer, and his brother seems like a smitten soul. Hm. Maybe it’s more fun to be a matchmaker than Morg has been letting on…
Serina: Okay, priority note to self. Never try to leave husband again…though he’s rather cute when he’s being assertive like that. She hadn’t realized how much he cared for her, and how wrong she was about his views on fatherhood—though part of that was his fault. Now, however, she knows. And it’s a pretty good thing, too. Her equation-spells are tracking some interesting changes in her pregnancy: some good, some not so good, and some just plain puzzling, though nothing like the disaster that almost happened from her attempting to distance herself from him. Being together, admitting they love each other, and having a husband who wants to be a father are all very good things.
Serina is also happy to have a new job—a brand-new job. First official exchequer of the island. The eldest of the brothers, Saber, doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with the thought of her looking over his books and records, but from the way Dominor explained the family dynamics, Saber is the one who arranges all the sales and purchases for the family. That’s fine by her; she’s not interested in managing the trading aspect. With a nearly blank slate, she can design a decent banking system, and hopefully work with Saber and his trading knowledge to come up with a system of imports, exports, and investments. Mindful of how much of a handful her honorary nephew can be at times, Serina knows she has the length of her pregnancy to get the foundations of these ideas laid down firmly before motherhood comes along. At least she’ll have Dominor firmly by her side, with Mariel soon to follow.
Evanor: Dom is safe and alive. And happily married. Good—now, can someone please do something about his lack of a voice?? If that someone is the beautiful Natallian healer, Mariel, all the better as far as he’s concerned. One look was all it had taken to be instantly captivated by her. And if she can restore his voice and his powers…heaven. Courting her won’t be the easiest thing in the world, but Evanor can’t imagine the Gods making him fall for a woman and her not turning out to be his Destiny. Somehow, he will have to find a way to court her. Once she and her son get to the Isle, of course…which brings up a new problem, one he’ll have to think about. Mariel and her son are a package deal, after all.
Trevan: Three women! Three, and soon to be four! He can almost smell his own woman from here, taste her on his tongue… When Kelly first arrived, Trevan had just been happy to see any woman on the Isle, and his flirtation instincts had kicked in. And Alys, well, he just had to tease her, and in turn tease Wolfer about their love for each other—Trev had seen that romance coming from years ago, and it was about time, too. But this time, he didn’t bother flirting with Serina. For one, she probably wouldn’t have noticed; for another, Dominor would, and would have trounced him for it. But for the third and most important reason, the Prophecy was coming true. He could be patient, if he knew he would be rewarded eventually.
Rydan: Another woman in the family. Great. At least he’s worked with this particular woman in the past, and knows she doesn’t get on his nerves so much. But he knows the many projects Serina Avadan had been working on as a Guardian, projects that wouldn’t have stopped now that she’s passed on her guardianship of the Fountain of Koral-tai to the Mother Superior. And she knows that he’s still a Guardian of a Fountain here on Nightfall. It’s only a matter of time before she’ll start pestering him for access to it…and a matter of time before Evanor gets his own woman, adding to the painful chaos of the island, and Trevan will find his bride…and then it’ll be Rydan’s turn to fall and shatter. Great.
Koranen: Yes! More women! This is great! The Prophecy is coming true, and Koranen will finally get tumbled! It also looks like Serina knows the woman Destined for Evanor—if Evanor’s dazed, glazed, longing gazes are interpreted correctly—so it’s possible that they might know the two women for Trev and Rydan. And then, his turn! Any month now…aaaannny month… Seriously, stop stalling, Fate!
Morganen: Finally! Unless something goes tragically wrong with Ev’s impending courtship, Morganen can finally take a break and relax. But only for a little bit. Not that these things should be rushed, since that leads to mistakes, but Morg is just as eager as his twin for the rest of their Destined women to arrive. There are still at least three more women to find before he can work on his own courtship in earnest, plus other factors to consider, such as the mainland’s continuing stranglehold on their freedom. That will have to be dealt with, somehow, and he’ll have to look up what it takes to form a new kingdom, since he can’t imagine them going back under the thumb of a nation that rejected them…not with the independent Kelly as their part-time sovereign!