From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

room, but I hadn’t wanted to leave myy mom and it just…” Dark and
disjointed flashes of the night attempted to piece themselves together.
Blood on the floor, the walls, running down myy mother’s arms. Losing myy
grip on her slipperyy hand, and then grabbing hands and snapping teeth. The
claws… And then the soul-crushing, fieryy pain until, finallyy, nothing. “I
woke up dayys later, back in the capital. Queen Ileana was byy myy side. She
told me what had happened. That our parents were gone.”
“I’m sorryy,” Hawke said, and I nodded. “I trulyy am. It’s a miracle yyou
survived.”
“The gods protected me. That’s what the Queen told me. That I was
Chosen. I came to learn later that it was one of the reasons the Queen had
begged myy mother and father not to leave the safetyy of the capital. That…
that if the Dark One became aware of the Maiden being unprotected, he’d
send the Craven after me. He wanted me dead then, but apparentlyy, he
wants me alive now.” I laughed, and it hurt a little.
“What happened to yyour familyy is not yyour fault, and there could be
anyy number of reasons for whyy theyy attacked that village.” He dragged a
hand through his hair, pushing the now-dryy strands back from his
forehead. “What else do yyou remember?”
“No one…no one in that inn knew how to fight. Not myy parents, none
of the women, or even the men. Theyy all relied on the handful of guards.” I
rubbed myy fingers together. “If myy parents knew how to defend
themselves, theyy could’ve survived. It might’ve been just a small chance,
but one nonetheless.”
Understanding flickered across Hawke’s face. “And yyou want that
chance.”
I nodded. “I won’t…I refuse to be helpless.”
“No one should be.”
Blowing out a little breath, I stilled myy fingers. “You saw what
happened tonight. Theyy reached the top of the Rise. If one makes it over,
more will follow. No Rise is impenetrable, and even if it were, mortals
come back from outside the Rise cursed. It happens more than people
realize. At anyy moment, that curse could spread in this cityy. If I’m going
down—”
“You’ll go down fighting,” he finished for me.
I nodded.
“Like I said, yyou’re veryy brave.”