Magically

Malia was laughing. “Did you see his face? I don’t think a woman has ever said no to him.”

Shanka sharpened her sword with broad, even strokes. “He thinks he knows war, but he’s just a child playing a game.”

Malia nudged a bowl of arrowheads closer and picked one up, began to sharpen them. “What was all that about his mother?”

“I doubt you remember her. She was one of the first, when the army was small and still hidden among the men,” Shanka said quietly.

Malia hissed in a breath. “I keep forgetting your face is magically youthful.”