The Naylmo in the room

There was something rewarding about seeing a guest enjoy one’s cooking, even if that guest was not quite a friend.

Alexis watched Tar devouring the contents of his bowl, following suit at a much more leisurely pace. She liked to take her time eating when she actually had the luxury of having it.

She listened silently to his explanations of what he had deduced from his copy so far. Slowly but surely, her confusion over why the ifrinn he felt the need to share his findings with her gave way to the nagging feeling that she knew exactly why.

Fucking hunches. She’d rather had been wrong.

Under different circumstances, she would have been curious enough to inquire about the details of what he had found out.

As it was, he just had nonchalantly placed a proverbial Naylmo into the proverbial room that urgently needed addressing.

Her eyes narrowed and she stared at him, setting her bowl down for the time being.

“‘Us’?”

He could, of course, be referring to just himself and his invisible advisers. Somehow she doubted it.