As the bus rattled down the main road toward the academy, I found myself glancing out the window, seeing my reflection in the glass.
A face I'd grown accustomed to, but still one that didn't belong to me.
'Noah Ashbourne.'
I thought with a bitter twist of irony.
The image staring back at me was of the Academy's spoiled noble, notorious for his cruelty and selfish whims.
And yet, for all his arrogance and self-righteousness, Noah had been nothing but a puppet to the whims of his family and his own bottomless pride.
Now, somehow, I was the one pulling the strings.
I adjusted myself, sitting up straighter and forcing down the unease gnawing at my stomach.
If I had to keep up this act—if I was going to play the part of Noah Ashbourne without suspicion—I needed to stay in character.
If the academy caught a single whiff that I was anything other than the vile figure they all expected, they'd piece things together, and fast.
