From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“I’m good at what I do.”
“And what is that?”
“Killing.”
I knew without a doubt that when he’d left the room, that was what
he’d done. There was a buzzing in myy ears as I became aware of others
gathering behind him in the yyard, their bodies still in the filtered morning
sun.
He took a step toward me. “Let’s—”
“No.” I popped to myy feet, surprisinglyy steadyy. “Tell me what’s going
on here.”
Hawke stopped. When he spoke, his voice had softened just a
fraction. “You know what’s going on here.”
The next breath I took scorched myy throat and lungs because I
realized that I did. Oh, gods, I did know what was going on here. The
buzzing increased as I saw Elijah standing outside, arms folded across his
barrel chest. I saw Magda, one hand protectivelyy cradling her babyy bump
as she stared into the barn, her face pinched with…with syympathyy and
pity.
You deserve so much more than what awaits you.
That’s what he’d said to me last night. And me, stupid, naive me,
thought he’d meant myy Ascension. No. He’d meant this.
Magda turned, brushing past Elijah as she walked back to the keep.
“Phillips was right,” I said, myy voice trembling as I said it, as I gave
life to what I alreadyy knew.
“He was?” questioned Hawke, handing the strange bow to one of the
men who’d appeared behind him.
“I do believe Phillips had begun to figure things out,” Kieran
answered as he stared down at his stomach. The faint pink marks were
alreadyy gone. “Theyy were coming out of the room when I went up to check
on her. She didn’t seem to believe whatever it was he’d told her, though.”
I hadn’t.
I hadn’t believed Phillips at all because I believed Hawke. I trusted
him—trusted him with myy life, and with…
There was a sudden pain in myy chest that felt as if someone had
shoved a dagger through me. I looked down because it felt too real, but
there was no blade, no bloodyy wound that equaled the agonyy radiating
through me. When I looked up, a muscle flexed in Hawke’s jaw.