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“I would expect nothing less,” he replies.
He stirs the carriage into motion, and our journey together begins.
12
KAZRITH
How does she avoid buckling? When everybody else I’ve seen in her position has crumbled under the pressure?
From out of the tumultuous ocean, water droplets spray our faces, the boat’s trajectory unsettled against the roaring winds. Somewhere in the unseen distance, Ikoth looms, and I just watch Hanna, studying her carefully. It’s as though I think the secret to her composure might be hidden somewhere in her dimpled cheeks, or her large, shining eyes.
She intrigues me.
She’s described her struggles in intimate detail, mostly to gain my compassion. And I’ve fallen for her manipulations with no regrets.
I’ve been watching her discreetly, trying to figure out if she’s actually serious with what we’ve agreed. She has more to lose than I do, without a doubt, and she could very well be a traitor.
But the more I’ve watched her, the more I’ve realized that she’s sincere. Considering she’s a pretty human woman, it’s nice to have her around.
The boat crashes forward, and I stabilize myself while she nearly loses her balance.
I’ve seen the defeat in the eyes of her peers. I can still see the humans, lined up at the auction block, ready to sell themselves to volvath demons who would just as easily view them as toys. When we see the unliving carcasses of humans who have given up, discarding themselves in the streets, we’ve learned not to blink. They are, after all, disposable.
But that’s not her at all.
After countless losses and very little relief, she remains steadfast, not wavering for a moment. There’s something deeply admirable about it—or perhaps something deeply foolish? After all, we all meet our untimely ends. Why is she only prolonging hers?
Would I have come out so pristine and well put-together if I had her past—if I were born a human, with her life and unending misfortune? Somehow, I do not think so. It seems stupid to maintain a shred of hope in her position.
“What is it?”
Her head swivels, and her eyes change their focus, from the vast and infinite horizon to my face. Several mynahs cry overhead, some landing atop the mainmast, while others jump and swoop around. I can see a storm approaching, but I know that we will weather it.
“Nothing,” I tell her. “I just forget how long this boat ride takes sometimes.”
“From what you’ve told me, it’ll be a while,” she says. “But I’d think you’d be used to it by now, with how much traveling you do.”
She speaks to me almost like an equal. For most of my life, I’ve been told humans are not good for more than breeding, less intelligent than our livestock. Which made it all the more perplexing why my peers were so willing to die for this companionship. The hypocrites themselves erected this societal rule. Now they suddenly view them as viable romantic partners?
Have I been lied to?
“It doesn’t make it any easier,” I tell her, not daring to convey my thoughts as I look upon her with fascination. “Yeah, I travel a lot. But if anything, the boredom just intensifies for me.”
She nods. “That’s unfortunate.”
She isn’t wrong, though. The journey ahead of us will be long. For hours, we’ve been traveling, and we’re not even a fraction of the way there. We still haven’t passed Glebe or Lezer.
“So what’s all this like? Walk me through a day in your life,” Hanna says.
I grin, then turn my head. I consider not answering her. It seems like a stupid question.
But then, maybe I’d be curious, too, if I grew up deeply impoverished and surrounded by xaphans.
“There’s not that much to it, to be honest. A lot of it is just keeping up with your customers.”
She looks at me curiously, and I realize I haven’t actually said anything meaningful.
“You bring what you think people will like, and not much more than that. Traveling light is important.”
