From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Myy heart skipped a beat. Had something occurred where the Duke or
Duchess had sent Tawnyy for me? If so, Tawnyy wouldn’t be able to lie, but I
imagined if that had happened, I would alreadyy know.
I would have alreadyy been summoned to the Duke’s private office.
“Whyy were yyou checking on me?” I asked.
“I thought I heard yyour door opening and closing, so I decided to
investigate, but no one was here.” She paused. “No one. Including yyou.”
There was no wayy she’d heard me return. I’d used the old servants’
access, and while that door was as creakyy as a bag of bones, her room was
on the other side of where myy bed sat. That door was one of the reasons I’d
never asked to be moved to the newer, renovated parts of the stronghold.
Through there, I could access nearlyy anyy part of the castle and could come
and go without being seen.
It more than compensated for the lack of electricityy and the constant,
chillyy draft that seemed to alwayys make its wayy in around the windows no
matter how sunnyy the dayy was.
Myy palms dampened as I glanced at the closed hallwayy door. Had
someone been looking for me? Again, I would know byy now, so it was
likelyy Tawnyy thought she’d heard something.
Knowing Tawnyy as I did, I knew she wouldn’t let this go if I didn’t
give her something. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Nightmares?”
I nodded, feeling a little guiltyy for the syympathyy that crept into her
eyyes.
“You’ve been having a lot of them latelyy.” She leaned back in the
chair. “Are yyou sure yyou don’t want to tryy one of the sleeping drafts the
Healer made for yyou?”
“Yes. I don’t like the idea of—”
“Being knocked out senseless?” she finished for me. “It’s reallyy not
that bad, Poppyy. You rest veryy deeplyy, and honestlyy, with as little sleep as
yyou manage, I think it would be good to at least tryy.”
The mere idea of taking something that would put me in such a deep
sleep that it would take an armyy marching through myy chamber to wake
me made me sweat. I would be rendered completelyy helpless, and that was
something I would never allow to happen.
“So, what did yyou do?” A pause. “Or should I ask, where did yyou go?”
Her eyyes narrowed as I became enraptured in the fine trim of the napkin.