Page 85 of The Queen’s Bodyguard

“Bless you, Your Grace,” said the woman, beaming. “Come, sit. I’ll make you a little of everything.”

The two of them sat at the wooden stools, and Theora taught him how to use chopsticks while they waited.

“You learn so quickly,” she said, watching him hold the utensils. “It took me ages to get it right.”

Argos shrugged. “I’m good at taking direction.”

“I know.” Heat radiated up her chest to her ears. “Don’t say it.”

“Wasn’t going to,” he said, barely holding in a smirk.

The woman served them two heaping bowls of noodles in fragrant broth, topped with all sorts of vegetables, chilis, and the marinated octopus.

When she had eaten enough to stave off her hunger, Theora turned on her stool to face him. “So how does this work? This voice-command magic?”

Argos took a moment to chew—she’d asked just as he’d stuffed too many noodles into his mouth. “You should ask Boada.”

“No, I mean on your end. What exactly do the commands do?”

“It’s like a stopper. It shuts away my magic. Mutes it.”

The woman placed a plate of fried vegetable-filled rolls in front of them.

“But it’s still there?” Theora asked, attempting to take one, the heat of it making her pull her hand back. “The magic, I mean.”

Argos shrugged. “It’s always there. Sometimes it overpowers me, sometimes it doesn’t.”

“How do you keep that from happening?”

“Rituals. Discipline.” He shrugged again. “You.”

“Is my magic different from Boada’s?”

Argos was quiet for a moment. “Boada’s magic is powerful, but I feel nothing from it when she isn’t actively using it. Yours is…it’s woven in your voice, in a way. Sometimes…”

Theora grinned as she watched a small blush bloom on his cheeks.

“Sometimes?” she prompted.

He took a breath. “It feels like you claimed me before you ever put that rope on me. That I was yours before I ever met you.”

Theora was speechless. Her heart fluttered, and when he looked at her, she felt flustered in the best way. “Yeah?”

“I resented you for a long time for that.”

“And do you still?” She turned her attention back to her food, as if seeking something that wouldn’t judge her. “You know what? Don’t answer that. That’s just asking to get my feelings hurt.”

“No.”

Theora looked up at him quickly. “What?”

“No,” Argos repeated, a slight grin on his lips. “I don’t resent you anymore.”

Theora cleared her throat, but there was no getting rid of her blush. “I was thinking…why can’t we see each other after this is all over? I don’t see why we can’t be friends.”

Argos raised a brow and set his empty bowl of noodles aside, exchanging it for the rolls. “Friends?”

“Why not? We like each other, don’t we? And I doubt Boada would mind if I stole you from the barracks once in a while.”