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“So it’s mostly traveling then?”
I don’t know why she takes such an interest. I’ve never had to discuss what I do with anybody before.
“I’d say it’s sixty percent traveling, twenty percent research, ten percent luck, and ten percent conversation.”
Her eyes grow wide. Her tongue swipes along her chapped bottom lip in thought, but then she gazes at me again.
“Have you ever done so poorly—had such bad luck—you wound up stranded somewhere with no way of getting home?”
I chuckle at this. “Well, my animals would have to be dead for that,” I reply honestly. “But there was a time when business was really tough, back before I met my associate. I’ve had some close calls.”
I see a faint landmass in the distance, obscured by black clouds.
“So who do you sell to? Are they all like you?”
I eye her suspiciously. “You’re asking an awful lot of questions about my business,” I tell her. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were a spy.”
She stares back at me with a frown forming and I chuckle at the sheer improbability of it, while also trying to convey my humor.
It’s true that she’s competent enough to be a spy—that would even make a lot of sense. But I’m not deluded enough to think anybody cares about my business, among all of the other volvath demons. I’m a very small fish in a very large lake. That’ll change one day, though.
She laughs nervously. “Just trying to pass the time,” she says. “Figured it’s better than standing here in awkward silence.”
“How familiar are you with demons?” I ask. “Because if you don’t let me know, I’m probably going to bore you to tears.”
She shakes her head. “Not very well, I suppose,” she says. “I mean, occasionally, we see demons walking through New Solas, but I don’t ask many questions. I’ve only heard rumors of what goes on in Ikoth.”
I nod.
“So I’m a volvath demon, which is kind of the default, and kind of my major clientele,” I say, watching her to ensure I don’t lose her attention. “The soz’garoth are more magical and discerning, and sometimes, I hook the attention of a trolvar. But they don’t tend to buy from me as much.”
“I’ll pretend I know what any of those words mean.”
I think I see her eyes glazing over.
“Volvath demons just look like me, more or less. Soz’garoth are smaller, and they tend to have pointier ears and do better magic. And the trolvar have more feral attributes. If you saw a trolvar, you’d know.”
She puzzles over my words. “And… those are all the demons?” she asks.
I laugh. Then when I realize she isn’t joking, I stop. And I clear my throat instead.
“No, no. Well, there’s royalty, and then there are the matrons. They don’t live as citizens like we do—they’re on a higher rung.”
“So not worth bothering with?”
“More like I don’t want to be arrested. They’re very particular about who they deal with.”
Hanna nods. “So there’s like a hierarchy?”
“Pretty much. And I wouldn’t deal with gilak, either. They’re too stupid to care about most commerce.”
“Got it.”
The ship starts to shake more, and before I know what’s happening, the boat hits a crashing wave.
Hanna loses her balance, nearly falling onto the deck before I catch her in my arms, dipping down. Her skin is softer than I realized. She looks up at me, realizing that I hold her survival in my grasp.
She breaks away from me nervously. I huff slightly, coughing to cover up the incident.
