The Second God by Pauline M. Ross Page B

quite see the point. Why try to find a byan shar , when there’s one already?”
    Ly smiled. “There is a little more to it than that. No one will be able to open the door, but the Challenge also identifies those with the strongest power. I cannot say any more about it.”
    “It’s a pity,” Cal said. “It would be helpful to know more of our nearest neighbours. And I suppose Drina won’t be able to tell us anything, even though she’ll see it all.”
    Ly’s face was as open as a book, and the dismay in his expression told me everything.
    “Oh, so that’s it, is it?” I said with icy displeasure. “You’ve dragged me all the way up here for this Challenge, and I’m not even allowed to be there with you?”
    “I am very sorry, Princess,” Ly whispered.

9: Challenge
    For a moment, I was tempted to get back on Sunshine first thing tomorrow and go home to Arran. Why was I even here if I couldn’t go to the ceremony? And why was I forbidden?
    “But I’m your wife,” I hissed. “Surely I’m allowed to be there with you? And it’s not as if it’s a sacred ritual, like the Blood Ceremony – it’s a celebration, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, it is, but… you are not quite my wife.”
    “ Not quite! What under the moon is that supposed to mean? We had the hand-fasting ceremony, and you took me to your Clan. Doesn’t that make me a wife?”
    “Not exactly. It is hard to explain.”
    “Of course it is!” I spat. “Everything about your people is hard to explain, seemingly. But I think you’re going to have to try.”
    He sighed. “It is complicated. For marriage between two Clanfolk, hand-bonding is sufficient. For the unblooded – outsiders – something more is needed. Blood-bonding. An exchange of blood.”
    That actually made sense, for a change. Exchanging blood would make the outsider part of the Clans, and therefore acceptable. I leaned back in my chair, a little mollified. “Well, that is not so bad, because I already have your blood in me, don’t I? So are we already blood-bonded?”
    But his face gave me my answer.
    “Oh, for—! Don’t tell me, I know what you’re going to say – it’s hard to explain.”
    He smiled, and shook his head. “Ah, Drina! You are heir to the whole of Bennamore, so you are not used to your status being questioned. But so it is. We have not exchanged blood, I have only given you my seed, so we are not blood-bonded. Nor can we be. As byan shar , I am not permitted to share my blood with an outsider. So to my people we are half-married, if you like, but we cannot be fully married. That is why you are not accepted as my wife.”
    It was true that the Clanfolk had never shown me any respect, but then they treated Ly much the same way. I’d always thought it was our age – they revered the elderly and their ancestors, and Ly was not yet thirty, nowhere near his prime. I was happy to wait, assuming it would all come right in the end. But it seemed it would never come right.
    “Is that why they are so disrespectful to you?” I said. “Because you have an outsider half-wife?”
    “Partly, but also because I am your prisoner. The byan shar is a living god, sent to lead his people. He should not be so weak as to allow himself to be captured. Whenever they see me with you, it reminds them of that.”
    “So naturally you don’t want me with you at the Challenge,” I said. “I understand.”
    “Do you? Truly? If so, I am glad.”
    I nodded. “ That I understand. The half-wife business – pfft! Too strange. But politics is all about appearances. The gods know, I’ve been at Yannassia’s court long enough to appreciate the value of perception and symbolism. So you may go alone, with my goodwill.”
    “Thank you, Drina. It is for the best. And you shall see it all, I am determined on that. I will stay connected to Diamond, so you may watch everything through my eyes.”
    He smiled at me, and I laughed in delight. “Really? Oh, I like that idea! And best of all,