Kayla The first couple of weeks that Nicholas was an official member of the guild passed in a whirlwind. Day after day seemed to encompass some sort of interview or public statement or another, while night after night was filled with paperwork, preparations, and plans for the next leg of Nicholas’s goals. His next plan? To take one of the two esteemed positions as chairman of the guild—the top two positions on the board—when Kieran would retire in less than a year. Kieran was getting on in age, so it was only a matter of time until he retired and his position as chairman opened up. Nicholas intended to campaign for that position. “I need that position at all costs,” Nicholas said, hardly looking up from the stack of paperwork at his desk. Noah, perched on a nearby armchair

