Perhaps it was the wine, but abruptly Yenni’s frustration bubbled over. She slammed the table with her palm. “I am so tired of caring about appearances! Of feeling guilty and ashamed! Of catering to the fragile egos of others. I don’t want to marry Natahi! I want Weh-sheh,” she finished sadly.

“Oh, Yenni,” said Zui, and squeezed Yenni’s hand. The mood at their table was a somber contrast to the colorful happy chatter and plucky harp music that surrounded them. Diedre sighed.

“I know just how you feel, mams,” she said, staring into her wine glass. “I does wish every day there was some way I could be with Nannette.”

Ah! Yenni burned with embarrassment. Here she was wallowing in her own sorrows and poor Diedre was stuck in the same dirt pit. She’d completely forgotten about Diedre’s forbidden paramour, but she so rarely mentioned him.

“I’d always thought Nannette was a woman’s name,” Yenni mused. “There’s a Nannette in my Basics of Defensive Spellcasting class, but I suppose it is a name for a man as well.”

Diedre looked up slowly, just her eyes, still clutching her wine glass. “No, it isn’t.”

Yenni blinked, confused. “Are you saying your sweetheart is a woman?”

Diedre only nodded.

“Oh.”

Oh.

“That’s not common on the Isles, is it?” asked Zui, watching her closely.

Yenni scrunched up her forehead in thought. “It happens, but it is not something anyone would freely admit, for fear of being ridiculed and shamed. Men cannot marry men, and women cannot marry women. Is that different here?”

“No,” said Diedre. She gulped down the last dregs of her wine.

“The only exception is dragonkind,” said Zui. “If two males or two females match as Given, well, that’s more important than anything. It’s rare, but it does happen.”

Yenni sat back, flabbergasted. “But you told me Weh-sheh was handsome!”

Diedre shrugged. “He is. I appreciate the beauty in men and women both.”

“I see.” Yenni was floored. It was as if she were meeting Diedre all over again. Diedre watched her cautiously—no, fearfully—across the table, her face pinched and tense, and Yenni found she didn’t like her friend looking at her like that at all. It sent a sad ache through her heart.

“Stop it, Deedee,” she said softly. “This changes nothing between us. You are my dear friend.”

The relief that flooded Diedre’s features flowed, warm and golden, through Yenni as well, and the tautness that stretched between them relaxed. Diedre had supported Yenni since they first met. She’d cheered her up, even saved her life. She had been a true friend to Yenni, so now Yenni would be a true friend to her. Zui clapped her hands together, grinning at them.

“But if you love both men and women, why not simply marry a man to make your family happy?” asked Yenni.

The smile dropped from Diedre’s face.