Chapter 102

• “Ah.”
• Mr. Thorn—no, Baron Thorn, judging by how the man beside him addressed him—lifted his gaze as if he didn’t recognize me. But I felt it. The flicker. The way his pupils tightened. He knew exactly who I was. Sometimes I forgot Baron's name was also Diego.
• I was the one who wasn’t sure I recognized him. He looked nothing like the stiff, rule-obsessed teacher from the academy. The man dripping in obsidian rings and layered silver chains didn’t fit the memory at all. He looked younger. Richer. Hungrier.