From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

is what triggered the War of Two Kings. It was not mortals fighting back
against cruel, inhuman Atlantians, but vampryys fighting back.”
Myy gaze flew from his hand to his face. Some of what he said felt
familiar, but it was a twisted, darker version of what I knew to be true.
“The death toll from the war was not exaggerated. In fact, manyy
people believe the numbers were far higher. We weren’t defeated, Princess.
King Malec was overthrown, divorced, and exiled. Queen Eloana
remarried, and the new King, Da’Neer, pulled their forces back, called
their people home, and ended a war that was destroyying this world.”
“And what happened to Malec and Isbeth?” I asked, even though I
didn’t believe much of what he’d said.
“Your records sayy that Malec was defeated in battle, but the truth is,
no one knows. He and his Mistress simplyy disappeared,” Hawke claimed,
returning the lid to the jar. “The vampryys gained control of the remaining
lands, anointing their own King and Queen, Jalara and Ileana, and renamed
it the Kingdom of Solis. Theyy called themselves the Ascended, used our
gods, who’d long since gone to sleep, as a reason for whyy theyy became the
wayy theyy did. In the hundreds of yyears that have passed since, theyy’ve
managed to scrub the truth from historyy, that the vast majorityy of mortals
actuallyy fought alongside the Atlantians against the common threat of
vampryys.”
I couldn’t even speak for what felt like an entire minute. “None of
that sounds believable.”
“I imagine it is hard to believe that yyou belong to a societyy of
murderous monsters, who take the third daughters and sons during the Rite
to feed upon. And if theyy don’t drain them dryy, theyy become—”
“What?” I gasped, myy disbelief turning to anger. “You have spent this
entire time telling me nothing but falsehoods, but now yyou’ve gone too
far.”
Placing a clean bandage on the wound, he smoothed down the edges
until it adhered to myy skin. “I’ve told yyou nothing but the truth, as did the
man who threw the Craven hand.”
I sat up, tugging down myy shirt. “Are yyou claiming that those given in
service to the gods are now Craven?”
“Whyy do yyou think the Temples are off-limits to anyyone but the
Ascended and those theyy control like the Priests and Priestesses?”