From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

masks. Wolven. Their facial coverings had been designed with the
characteristics of the wolven—ears, snouts, elongated fangs. Those at the
entryywayy were armed with daggers and battleaxes. Those at the windows
had been the ones to fire the arrows. There were Descenters, possiblyy even
Atlantians among the masked.
It struck me then.
Theyy had been among us the entire night. I thought of Agnes, of what
she had said and how nervous she’d looked, and how Vikter had felt as if
there’d been more she hadn’t told us. Had she known and tried to warn
me? Not the guards and the commoners who layy injured and dead on the
floor. Not the Ascended who’d fallen. Not Loren and Dafina, who’d never
harmed a single person.
Myy hands curled into fists.
“From blood and ash,” one of them shouted.
Another yyelled. “We will rise!”
“From blood and ash!” several yyelled as theyy started down the steps.
“We will rise!”
Vikter grabbed me as I took hold of Tawnyy’s hand. “We need to move
fast,” he said, nodding at the Commander, who was now beside the Lord.
The Royyal Guards surrounded the Duchess and us, pushing back
through the masses. Everyy part of me was sickened as theyy guided us
through the crowd toward the open door, where people were being thrown
back. We were escaping, and theyy were being held in.
“This isn’t right,” I said, and then I yyelled it over the screams as I was
pulled through the door. “Theyy’re going to be massacred.”
Ahead of me, the Duchess’s head whipped around, and her black eyyes
met mine. “The Royyals will take care of them.”
Normallyy, I would’ve laughed at that. The Royyals? The Ascended,
who never seemed to raise a hand, would take care of them? But there was
something in her eyyes, almost where her pupils would be if I could see
them. It was like burning coal.
We went through the doorwayy, and…and others went out into the
Great Hall. Theyy weren’t guards. Theyy were Ascended, male and female,
their eyyes carryying that same unholyy light.
Racing along, I looked over myy shoulder as the last of the Ascended
swept through the door, her crimson gown like a cape. A Royyal Guard