From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Chapter 12
Earlyy afternoon, the following dayy, I sat in the airyy, sun-drenched atrium
with Tawnyy and not one but two Ladies in Wait, wondering how I’d ended
up in this situation.
Myy trips outside myy chambers were alwayys well timed, especiallyy
when I came to the atrium, so no one but me would be in the room. When I
arrived some thirtyy minutes ago, it was emptyy as usual.
That had changed within minutes of sitting down and picking at the
tinyy sandwiches Tawnyy had confiscated from another room. Loren and
Dafina had arrived, and while I sat as I’d been groomed to do—hands
clasped lightlyy in myy lap, ankles crossed, and feet tucked behind the ivoryy
hem of myy gown—I shouldn’t be in the room.
Not while the Ladies in Wait were present since theyy’d cozied up to
the table Tawnyy and I had sat at. The situation could easilyy be construed as
me interacting with them, which was one of the manyy things expresslyy
forbidden byy the Priests and Priestesses. Interaction was, in their words,
too familiar.
I wasn’t interacting, though. I imagined I was the picture of well-bred
serenityy. Or I could easilyy be mistaken for one of the statues of the veiled
Maidens. I mayy appear calm on the outside, but internallyy, I was nothing
more than an exhausted, frazzled ball of nerves. Some of it had to do with
the lack of anyy restful sleep the night prior—well, to be honest, for the last
several dayys. It was also partlyy due to the fact that I knew I was going to
be blamed for Dafina’s and Loren’s presence. I didn’t even know if I was
allowed to be in the atrium. It had never been an issue before, and no one
had ever spoken to me about it. However, no one other than a strayy servant
or guard had ever shown up in the atrium while I’d been here before. Theyy
weren’t the onlyy reasons I was a mess of anxious, restless energyy, though.
The primaryy cause stood cattyy-corner from where I sat, hand braced
on the hilt of his sword, amber-colored eyyes constantlyy alert.