From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

He nodded. “Never saw one until I got here.”
I wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t seen one in the capital. The trees,
with their shallow roots, were known to break through the ground, but I
wondered what village he’d lived in that had farming and caverns but no
weeping willows. “Ian and I used to playy inside. No one could see us.”
“Playy? Or do yyou mean hide?” he asked. “Because that’s what I
would’ve done.”
I cracked a grin. “Well, yyes. I would hide, and Ian would tag along
like anyy good big brother.” I looked up at him. “Have yyou gone under it?
There’re benches, but yyou can’t see them now.” I frowned. “Actuallyy,
anyyone could be under there right now, and we wouldn’t know.”
“No one is under there.”
Myy brows lifted above the mask. “How can yyou be sure?”
“I just am. Come on.” He tugged on myy hand as he strode forward.
“Watch yyour step.”
I wondered if his certaintyy had to do with his excellent tracking skills.
I easilyy navigated the low, stone wall, trailing behind him as we passed one
of the lanterns. Hawke reached out with his free hand, brushing aside
several of the leafyy branches. I stepped inside and, within a handful of
seconds, we were pitched into almost complete darkness as the branches
drifted back into place. The moonlight couldn’t break through the heavyy
fall, and onlyy the faintest glow from the nearbyy lanterns seeped into the
willow.
I looked around, seeing onlyy the outline of the trunk. “Gods, I forgot
how dark it is in here at night.”
“It feels like yyou’re in a different world under here,” he commented.
“As if we’ve stepped through a veil and into an enchanted world.”
I grinned, his words reminding me of Ian. “You should see it when it’s
warmer. The leaves bloom—oh! Or when it snows, and at dusk. The flakes
dust the leaves and the ground, but not a lot makes it inside here. Then it
reallyy is like a different world.”
“Mayybe we’ll see it.”
“You think so?”
“Whyy not?” he asked, and I sensed his bodyy angle toward mine. When
he spoke next, I felt his breath against myy forehead. “It will snow, will it
not? We’ll sneak off just before dusk and come out here.”