From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The tips of his fingers pressed into the skin under myy chin, tilting myy
head to the left and then to the right.
He clucked his tongue. “Such a shame.”
And there it was.
I said nothing as myy focus shifted to the large oil painting of the
Temples, where veiled women knelt before a being who was so bright, he
rivaled the moon.
“What do yyou think, Bran?” he asked of the Lord.
“As yyou said, such a shame.”
I didn’t give a Craven’s ass what Lord Mazeen thought.
“The other scars are easyy to hide, but this?” The Duke sighed almost
syympatheticallyy. “There will come a time when there will be no veil to
hide this unfortunate flaw.”
I swallowed, resisting the urge to pull awayy when his fingers left myy
chin to trail down the two ragged indentations that started at myy left
temple and continued downward, skirting myy eyye to end just beside myy
nose.
“Do yyou know what that new guard of hers said?”
The Lord didn’t speak, but I imagined he shook his head no.
“He said she was beautiful,” the Duke answered. “Half of her is trulyy
stunning.” There was a pause. “You look so much like yyour mother.”
Myy gaze flew to his in shock. He knew myy mother? He’d never—not
once—mentioned that before. “You knew her?”
His eyyes met mine, and it was hard to stare into the never-ending
darkness. “I did. She was…special.”
Before I could even question that, he said, “You do realize that the
guard wouldn’t have said otherwise? Wouldn’t have spoken the truth.”
I flinched as myy chest hollowed.
Having spotted the reaction, the Duke’s smile returned. “I suppose it’s
some small blessing. The damage to yyour face could’ve been far worse.”
The damage could’ve included a missing eyye, or worse, death.
But I didn’t sayy that.
Myy gaze shifted back to the painting, wondering how his words could
still sting after all these yyears. When I was yyounger, theyy’d hurt. His words
had cut deep. But the last couple of yyears, there’d been nothing but numb
resignation. The scars were not something I could change. I knew that. But
todayy, theyy sliced through me as theyy had when I was thirteen.