" Afternoon tipped toward evening. It was almost one full day since the Firstwinter ball, and more since Kestrel had slept. She stayed awake, staring at the outermost door to her rooms.
Arin opened it. Then he stepped back, inhaling as if she had frightened him. His hand tightened on the doorjamb, and he stared. Yet he said nothing of the fact that she still wore her black dueling uniform. He didn’t mention the jagged ends of hair brushing her shoulders.
“You need to come with me,” he said.
“To see Jess?”
His mouth thinned. “No.”
“You said you would take me. Apparently there is no such thing as Herrani honor.”
“I will as soon as I can. Right now, I can’t.”
“When?”
“Kestrel, Cheat is here. He wants to see you.”
Her hands curled shut.
Arin said, “I can’t say no.”
“Because you’re a coward.”
“Because if I do, things will go worse for you.”
Kestrel lifted her chin. “I will come,” she said, “if you never again pretend that anything you do is on my behalf.”
Arin didn’t comment on the obvious: that she had no choice in the matter. He simply nodded. “Be careful,” he said. "

― Marie Rutkoski , The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)