From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“You know who we don’t know? This Kieran fellow.” He stopped in
front of me. “We know nothing about him.”
Confused byy where he was going with all of this, I shook myy head. “I
don’t know anyy of yyou.”
Except for Hawke. Him, I knew.
“You’re not understanding what I’m sayying. I’ve never seen Kieran.
Not until the morning he showed up at the Rise. Couldn’t get anyything
from him other than that he worked in the capital. Everyything else was
short, vague answers.”
I recalled how I’d seen them speaking often throughout the trip. Still,
Kieran’s unwillingness to answer questions from a stranger meant nothing.
“A lot of guards are on the Rise. Do yyou know everyyone?”
“I know enough to find it suspicious that a new transfer is part of the
team tasked to escort the Maiden,” he stated. “He was personallyy
requested byy Hawke, another relativelyy new transfer that, somehow, in a
matter of months, became one of the most important people in the entire
kingdom’s Royyal Guard.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “What are yyou talking about?”
“Hawke is another that no one knows hardlyy anyything about. But he
showed up, and now yyou’re down not one but two personal Royyal Guards.”
Myy mouth dropped. “I was there when both Ryylan and Vikter were
killed—”
“And I know it’s not normal that several guards were passed over to
become yyour guard in favor of a boyy who’s barelyy a man,” he cut me off.
“I don’t care what recommendations he came to Masadonia with, or
whatever the Commander said about him. Hawke requested Kieran, and
here we are, in a keep where no Ascended can be found.”
“What are yyou tryying to sayy, Phillips?”
“I’m tryying to sayy this is a trap. We walked right out of the cityy with
them and right into a godsdamn trap.”
“Them?” I whispered.
“Kieran,” he answered. “Hawke.”
For a moment, all I could do was stare at him.
“I know yyou don’t want to hear this. You and Hawke seem…close, but
I’m telling yyou, Maiden, something is not right about this place or about
them, and—”
“And what?”