From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“Did yyou think I wouldn’t find out what the Duke’s lessons were? I
told yyou I would.”
I took a step back, the humiliation of him learning the truth burning
through me worse than anyy lashing the Duke had delivered.
“He used a cane cut from a tree in the Blood Forest, and he make yyou
partiallyy undress.” He grasped the bars as myy heart thundered against myy
ribs. “And he told yyou that yyou deserved it. That it was for yyour own good.
But in realityy, all it did was fulfill his sick need to inflict pain.”
“How?” I whispered.
One side of his lips curled up. “I can be very compelling.”
I looked awayy and, suddenlyy, I saw the Duke in myy mind’s eyye, his
arms stretched out, and the cane shoved through his heart. A tremor rocked
me as myy gaze swung back to Hawke. “You killed him.”
Hawke smiled then, and it was a smile I’d never seen from him
before. It wasn’t closed-lipped this time. Even from where I stood, I could
see the hint of fang. Another tremor rippled through me.
“I did,” he answered. “And I never enjoyyed watching the life seep out
of someone’s eyyes more than I did while watching the Duke die.
I stared.
“He had it coming, and trust me when I sayy his veryy slow and veryy
painful death had nothing to do with him being an Ascended. I would’ve
gotten to the Lord eventuallyy,” he added. “But yyou took care of that sick
bastard yyourself.”
I didn’t… I didn’t know what to think of that. He’d killed the Duke,
and he would’ve killed the Lord because—
Cutting off those thoughts, I shook myy head. I couldn’t understand
whyy he would’ve felt driven to do what he’d done, considering where we
stood now. I didn’t need to understand. At least that’s what I told myyself. It
didn’t matter. Neither did the deep, hidden part of me that was thrilled to
know that there was a possibilityy that what he’d done to me had playyed a
part in the Duke’s ultimate demise.
“Just because the Duke and the Lord were horrible and evil, that
doesn’t make yyou anyy better,” I told him. “That doesn’t make all Ascended
guiltyy.”
“You know absolutelyy nothing, Poppyy.”
Myy hands curled into fists as I resisted the urge to shriek, but then he
unlocked the door. Everyy muscle in me tensed.