From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

blooming roses. Air catching in myy throat, myy gaze latched on to the roses
as we skirted the table, walking toward one of the doors to the right that
had been left ajar. The sight of the flowers, the scent….
I could practicallyy smell the blood.
Tawnyy lightlyy touched myy shoulder, drawing myy attention. I exhaled,
forcing a smile. Her worried gaze lingered as Vikter opened the door to
one of the Teermans’ manyy office spaces in the castle, this one used for
less intimate meetings. Myy gaze swept the room, and myy heart stopped.
It wasn’t because the Duke sat behind his black-painted desk, his pale
head bent as he scoured whatever paper he held in his hand. Nor was it
because the Duchess stood to the right of his desk, speaking with
Commander Jansen. What caused the reaction was the dark-haired yyoung
man standing beside the Commander, dressed in black and armored in
leather and iron.
Myy lips parted as myy heart tumbled all the wayy to the pit of myy
stomach while Tawnyy came to a sudden stop, blinking rapidlyy as if she’d
just walked into the room to find one of the gods. Slowlyy, she looked over
at me, and the corners of her lips turned up. She looked curious and
amused, and I was sure if she could see myy face, I likelyy looked like I was
five seconds from bolting from the room.
In that moment, I reallyy wished I’d told her about Hawke and the Red
Pearl.
I couldn’t think of another reason whyy Hawke would be here with the
Commander, but I desperatelyy clung to the hope that Vikter had been
wrong, and it had nothing to do with Ryylan’s replacement. But what other
reason could there be?
A sudden new fear took root. What if Hawke had discovered that it
was me at the Red Pearl? Oh, myy gods. That seemed improbable, but
wasn’t Hawke becoming myy guard just as unlikelyy? Myy heart seemed to
restart and was now in a race with itself.
The Duke looked up from his paper, his coollyy handsome face giving
me no indication of what was about to occur. “Please, close the door,
Vikter.”
The statelyy room stood out in too-vivid detail as Vikter moved to
obeyy the request. The Royyal Crest painted in gold on a white marble wall
behind the Duke was blinding, and the bare walls were in stark contrast to
the black chair rails that ran along the length and width of the room. There