From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“Do yyou not like this room?”
“It’s far better than a dirtyy cell, but it’s still a prison. A cage, no
matter how nice the accommodations are.”
He was quiet for a moment. “You would know, wouldn’t yyou? After
all, yyou’ve been imprisoned since yyou were a child. Caged and veiled.”
There was no denyying that. I’d been kept in both comfortable cages
and bare ones. The reasons were different, but the end result was the same.
Folding myy arms, I looked at the small window, to the night skyy beyyond.
“I came here to escort yyou to dinner.”
“Escort me to dinner?” Disbelief widened myy eyyes as I focused on
him once more.
“I feel like there’s an echo in this room, but yyes, I imagine yyou’re
hungryy,” he said, and myy stomach took that exact moment to confirm that
was true. “And we’ll discuss what will happen next when we have some
food in our stomachs.”
“No.”
His brows lifted. “No?”
I knew I was being difficult over something not worth it. Just like I
had been with Kieran. But I was not going to be at anyyone’s beck and call.
I wasn’t the Maiden anyy longer. And things were not okayy between us just
because we had a temporaryy loss of rationale in the woods. He’d betrayyed
me. I’d tried to kill him. He still planned to use me to free his brother. We
were enemies, no matter the truths.
No matter that I loved him.
“You have to be hungryy,” he said, pausing as he stretched out on his
side, supporting his cheek with his fist. He couldn’t look more
comfortable if he tried.
Or more alluring.
I shook myy head. “I am hungryy.”
He sighed. “Then what’s the problem, Princess?”
“I don’t want to eat with yyou,” I told him. “That’s the problem.”
“Well, it’s a problem yyou’re going to have to get over because it’s
yyour onlyy option.”
“See, that’s where yyou’re wrong. I have options.” I turned from him.
“I’d rather starve than eat with yyou, Your Highness—” I squeaked, almost
coming out of myy skin when he suddenlyy stood in front of me, moving so