From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

appeared in myy mind, the look of shock on his face as he stared down at
his chest.
Squeezing myy eyyes shut, I lowered myyself more and let the water slip
over myy head. I stayyed there until myy lungs burned and I no longer saw
Ryylan’s face. Onlyy then did I allow myyself to resurface. There I stayyed,
bruised knees tucked to myy chest, until myy skin puckered, and the water
began to cool.
I rose from the soaking tub, pulling on a thick robe that Tawnyy had
left on a nearbyy stool and padded on bare feet across the fire-warmed stone
to the lone mirror. Using myy palm to wipe awayy a bit of steam, I stared
into myy green eyyes. Myy father had passed that color onto Ian and me. Our
mother had brown eyyes. I remembered that. The Queen had told me once
that except for myy eyyes, I was a replica of myy mother when she was myy
age. I had her strong brow and her oval-shaped face, angular cheekbones,
and full mouth.
I tilted myy cheek. The faintlyy red and bruised skin along myy temple
and the corner of myy mouth were barelyy noticeable. Whatever the Healer
had rubbed onto the skin had greatlyy sped up the healing process.
It had to be the same mixture I’d used to heal the welts that too often
marked myy back.
I pushed that thought from myy head as I looked at myy left cheek. That
too had healed but had left a mark behind.
I didn’t look at the scars often, but I did now. I studied the jagged
streak of skin, a pink paler than myy skin tone, that started below the
hairline and sliced across myy temple, narrowlyy missing myy left eyye. The
healed injuryy ended byy myy nose. Another shorter wound was higher up,
cutting across myy forehead and through myy eyyebrow.
I lifted myy damp fingers, pressing them to the longer scar. I’d alwayys
thought that myy eyyes and mouth seemed too large for myy face, but the
Queen had said that myy mother had been considered a great beautyy.
Whenever Queen Ileana spoke of myy mother, she did so with pained
fondness. Theyy’d been close, and I knew she regretted granting myy mother
the one thing she’d ever asked her for.
Permission to refuse the Ascension.
Myy mother had been a Ladyy in Wait, given to the Court during her
Rite, but myy father had not been a Lord. She had chosen myy father over the
Blessing of the gods, and that kind of love…it was, well, I didn’t have anyy