From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“This is perhaps the least calming speech ever given after an attack,”
Hawke muttered under his breath.
His comment jarred me out of myy spiral of panic, the utter dryyness of
his words cutting the cord that connected me to the people. Myy senses
reeled back, and it was like a door slamming shut, locking.
I felt…I felt nothing but myy pounding heart and the sheen of sweat on
myy forehead. What he had done did more than loosen the hold the public’s
fear had on me, it not onlyy created a crack in its grip, it obliterated it. The
feelings had vanished so quicklyy that I almost wondered if I had felt them
at all. If it had just been myy mind playying tricks on me as the faces before
me became clear once more, a continuous onslaught of different shades of
fear and panic—
Myy gaze sharpened as I took another look at the crowd, focusing on
the faces that showed no emotion. Unnerved byy their blank features, a
trickle of unease curled its wayy down myy spine. I focused on one of the
men. He was yyounger, blond hair falling to his shoulders. He was too far
awayy to make out his eyye color, but he stared up at the Duke and Duchess,
lips pressed firmlyy together, jaw a hard, broad line, while those who stood
around him exchanged looks of terror.
I recognized him.
He’d been at the Cityy Council. He’d had that same expression then,
and that thing had happened—the weird flood of sensations I shouldn’t be
able to feel.
Or I didn’t know I could.
I checked out the crowd once more, easilyy picking up on the ones like
him. There were at least a dozen that I could see.
Myy gaze slid back to the blond man as I thought about what I’d felt
when I’d been with Loren. What I’d felt from her made sense now, given
what had occurred. She had been excited about the possibilityy of the Dark
One being nearbyy, as disturbing as that was. And she would have reason to
fear that I would sayy something. This man mayy not show emotion in his
features, but if he hadn’t agreed with what was being done to the Tulis
familyy, it would come as no surprise that he’d feel anger now.
Mayybe it was all in myy head. Perhaps something was happening to
myy gift. Was it possiblyy evolving so I could feel other emotions besides
pain? I didn’t know, and I needed to find out, but I had to sayy something
now just in case.