[KAEL — POV]
Riven came to Halset's the following morning, which was impressive because Kael had told no one he was staying there.
He let Riven in because the alternative was a scene in Halset's shop, which he preferred to avoid.
"How," he said.
"I'm better at this than you give me credit for." Riven looked around the room with the expression of someone presented with an inadequate substitute for what they deserved. "It's very small."
"It's functional."
"That's a way of describing it." Riven sat in the single chair, as was his custom when there were chairs available—he had a gift for occupying the available seating before his host could, which Kael had long recognized as a small power performance and had long found pointless enough to not contest. "I invoked the strategic review. The
