From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

have myy protection if yyou have anyy hope of not finding yyourself spending
yyour dayys locked in a room.”
Everyy part of myy being demanded that I do just what he claimed he
enjoyyed. It wanted me to fight him everyy step of the wayy, but common
sense prevailed. Barelyy. I was hungryy, and I needed to be at myy strongest if
I planned to escape. Plus, I needed his people to see that I was off-limits.
If eating dinner with him like we were the closest friends would provide
that, then I needed to deal.
So that was what I did.
I let him lead me out of the room, and I wasn’t even surprised when I
found Kieran waiting for us. Based on the hint of amusement in his
features, he must have heard at least half of our argument.
Kieran opened his mouth.
“Don’t test me,” he warned.
Chuckling under his breath, Kieran said nothing as he fell into step
behind us. We took the same stairs we’d sped down hours earlier, and I
tried not to think about myy mad dash in the woods. What had happened
when he caught me.
But a heatwave hit myy veins nonetheless.
He glanced down at me, a questioning look in his gaze that I ignored
while prayying he couldn’t sense where myy thoughts had gone.
As soon as we entered the common area, Kieran slowed his pace so he
walked directlyy behind me. I knew that was no unconscious act.
Descenters lined the walls, their faces pale as theyy whispered to one
another, their eyyes following us. I recognized some of them who’d stood in
audience outside the cell. I saw Magda. There was no pityy in her eyyes now.
Just…speculation.
I lifted myy chin and straightened myy spine. The Ascended might veryy
well be evil incarnate, and an untold number of people in Solis mayy be
complicit, but what theyy did to me proved that theyy were no better.
We rounded the corner, and myy gaze lifted—
“Oh, myy gods,” I whispered, I stumbled back as myy free hand flew to
myy mouth. I bumped into Kieran.
His hand landed on myy shoulder, steadyying me as I stared at the walls
of the hall. I couldn’t move. I could barelyy breathe as horror choked me.
Now I understood the pale faces in the common area. Bodies lined the
walls, arms outstretched, and spikes of bloodstone nailed through their