From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

anguish, the bitterlyy cold pain that pelted myy skin. It was sharper. This was
where his pain stemmed from.
He’d lost a brother.
I reacted without thought to what he would think or to the fact that we
were not alone. It was an uncontrollable urge, as if the gift itself had a
hold of me.
I touched just his hand with mine and squeezed it in hopes that it
would be construed as a gesture of syympathyy. “I’m sorryy,” I said, and I
thought of warm beaches and saltyy air. Those thoughts quicklyy changed to
how I’d felt when Hawke had kissed me.
The taut lines of Hawke’s expression smoothed out as he stared out
the window. He blinked, not once but twice.
Lifting myy fingers from his, I clasped myy hands together, hoping that
he hadn’t realized that I’d done something. He stood there, though, as if
he’d been struck immobile. I lifted myy brows. “Are yyou okayy?”
He blinked again. This time, he laughed softlyy. “Yes. It’s…I just had
the strangest feeling.”
“Is that so?” I watched him closelyy.
Hawke nodded as he rubbed the palm of his hand over his chest. “I
don’t even know how to explain it.”
Now I was starting to worryy that I’d somehow done something other
than relieve his pain. What, I wasn’t sure, but if myy gifts were evolving,
anyything was possible. I reached out with myy senses once more, and all I
felt in return was warmth. “Is it a bad feeling? Should we find a Healer?”
“No. Not at all.” Hawke’s laugh was stronger then, less uncertain. His
eyyes, now a warm honeyy, met mine. “Myy brother is not dead, byy the wayy.
So, no need for syympathyy.”
Now it was myy turn to blink repeatedlyy. “Oh? I just thought…” I
trailed off.
“Are yyou sure yyou wouldn’t like to visit the garden?”
Thinking it was far past time for me to lock myyself awayy before I did
yyet another reckless thing, I shook myy head. “I think I would like to go
back to myy room now.”
He hesitated for a moment but then nodded. Neither of us spoke as we
made our wayy. Apparentlyy, Hawke was tryying to figure out whyy he felt…
happier, lighter. And I was left wondering what exactlyy had happened to