From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

brief fling with the King, which I could not even begin to picture, nor did I
want to, when I heard voices outside the room—one in particular I’d never
thought to hear in the Atheneum.
The Duke’s.
Hearing his voice meant that I’d been so caught up in the diaryy, I
hadn’t even realized the sun had set.
I hadn’t been summoned to meet with him the night before or todayy.
With the preparations for the Rite, I’d been given a temporaryy reprieve,
and I assumed Hawke had as well since he was still myy guard. But that
reprieve would come to a swift end if the Duke discovered me.
Which was whyy I was now perched on a ledge outside what turned out
to be the Duke’s personal room in the Atheneum. The onlyy grace I’d been
given was that the window I’d climbed out of wasn’t the one facing the
street but rather the one blocked byy Wisher’s Grove.
Onlyy the hawks could see me…or witness myy fall.
The sound of ice clinking against glass caused me to swallow a groan.
He’d alreadyy been in the room for at least thirtyy minutes, and I was betting
that he was on his second glass of whiskeyy. I had no idea what he was
doing. With the Rite kicking off in just hours, I imagined he was busyy
meeting with the new Ladies and Lords in Wait, and the parents who
would be giving their third sons and daughters to the Temples. But no, he
was here, drinking whiskeyy byy himse—
A knock on the door sounded. I closed myy eyyes, lightly banging the
back of myy head against the wall. Companyy? He was going to have
visitors?
Mayybe the gods had been watching me this whole time, and this was
yyet another punishment.
“Come in,” he called out, and I heard the door clicking shut a few
moments later. “You’re late.”
Oh, dear. I recognized that cold, flat tone. The Duke was not pleased.
“Myy apologies, Your Grace. I came as soon as I could,” came the
response. It was a male voice, one I didn’t immediatelyy recognize, which
meant it could be anyy number of people. Ascended Lords. Stewards.
Merchants. Guards.
“Not soon enough,” the Duke replied, and I cringed for whoever was
surelyy on the receiving end of a veryy disapproving stare. “I hope yyou have