Daughter of Light by Morgan Busse

Book 1 of Followers of the Word

Summary:

What if with one touch you could see inside the soul?

Rowen Mar finds a strange mark on her hand, and she is banished from her village as a witch. She covers the mark with a leather glove and seeks sanctuary in the White City. She lives in fear that if she touches another person, the power inside her will trigger again, a terrifying power that allows her to see the darkness inside the human heart . . .

But the mark is a summons, and those called cannot hide forever. For the salvation of her people lies within her hand.

Opening Lines:

Mercia's lungs burned as she ran. She kept one hand clutched tightly to the bundle wrapped around her middle. Her other hand grasped air as if to pull herself forward. 

She could feel them coming. Closer. Closer.