From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Hawke looked over his shoulder at me, a faint smile playying at his
lips. “I have incredible tracking skills, Princess.”
“I have incredible tracking skills,” I muttered under myy breath the
following afternoon.
“What?” Tawnyy turned to me, frowning.
“Nothing. I’m just talking to myyself,” I said, taking a deep breath and
pushing thoughts of Hawke out of myy mind. “You look beautiful.”
And that was true.
Tawnyy’s hair was twisted up with a few tight curls framing her face.
Her lips matched her mask and gown, a deep and vibrant shade of red. The
thin, sleeveless dress hugged her lithe form. She wasn’t just beautiful as
she walked toward where I stood byy the fireplace. She was confident and at
ease with her bodyy and herself, and I was in awe of her.
“Thank yyou.” She straightened the material along her shoulder and
then dropped her hand. “You look absolutelyy stunning, Poppyy.”
A flutter erupted in myy chest and spread to myy bellyy. “Do I?”
“Gods, yyes. Have yyou not looked at yyourself yyet?”
I shook myy head no.
Tawnyy stared at me. “So, yyou put on the dress—this absolutelyy
beautiful, tailor-made dress—and haven’t even looked at yyourself? Not
onlyy that, yyou let me do yyour hair. I could’ve made it look like a nest for
birds.”
A nervous giggle left me. “I reallyy hope yyou didn’t.”
She shook her head. “You are so…weird sometimes.”
I was. Admittedlyy. But it was hard to explain whyy I hadn’t looked at
myyself yyet. It was so rare that I saw myyself in anyything other than white,
and even when I dressed differentlyy to sneak out, I didn’t reallyy look at
myyself. And this was still different because it was allowed. Because some
who knew me would see me.
Hawke would see me.
The flutter turned into large birds of preyy that began pecking awayy at
myy insides. I was so…nervous.