_Nathan’s POV_
Miles was supposed to be there before warm-ups.
That was the part I kept circling while I taped my stick in the locker room. Not the opponent’s record. Not Coach’s pre-game notes. Not even the fact that a few alliance observers had taken seats in the lower deck. Just the empty promise sitting against the rest of the noise.
He had called before noon.
“My father wants me home for the afternoon,” Miles had said. “Damian’s version of non-negotiable.”
“For the whole night?”
“I’ll make the game. I told you I would.”
He had said it cleanly, without soft padding. Miles didn’t offer reassurance he didn’t intend to keep. Still, by the time we lined up for the anthem and his seat near the glass remained empty, the promise felt thinner than it had on the phone.
Theo bumped his g
