He loved Elian like a brother, but there were limits. And those limits had been reached approximately forty-eight hours ago.
He wanted a break too.
More importantly, he wanted to spend that break with Soren.
He missed his husband. He missed the way Soren laughed, the way he tilted his head when he was thinking, the way he made even the most ordinary moments feel special. Nicholas wanted to be home, curled up on the couch with Soren, doing absolutely nothing.
Instead, he was here, watching Elian gloat about his time off.
"Anyway, Elian isn't important," Kasteil said, casually steering the conversation away from him.
His voice was smooth but there was a glint in his eye that suggested he knew exactly what he was doing.
"What about you, Nicholas?"
Elian's head snapped toward him.
"What do you mean I'm not important?"
