Chapter Thirty
Searon sat at a fine dark-stained oak table in front of a board game. The sound of a rocking chair squeaking in the background echoed in his ears. Karceoles sat in the rocking chair, puffing on his pipe as he watched the two of them play Crossguards. Noraes lived in a stronghold just outside of the main city, away from being bombarded by traffic. It stood well protected, as he was the duke of the city, but his residence didn’t appear overwhelmingly large. After all, he was just a duke, not a prince or a king.
Searon observed the large castle behind brother’s stronghold. The duke stood to protect the king of the land, and so the stronghold had been placed in front of the castle in order to protect it. A handful of other strongholds defended against invasion as well as the o
