“Yes, dear?” She beamed at him, clearly appreciating the closeness.
Good.
“I feel a bit lightheaded myself, so I think I’ll join Mr. Lennox outside. I could also tell him a thing or two about God’s graciousness?” he offered, making himself sound as eager as he could. Just like the devout little subject the Church expected him to be.
“Lovely idea,” she agreed quickly, draping her hand over his and squeezing it. “Perhaps hearing it from someonehis age would stifle any doubts he might hold. Do you have the address of the hotel in case Mr. Lennox is not feeling well?”
Noah let go of her shoulder, slipping out of her hold. “Yeah, I have it.”
“Off you go then.” She patted him on the arm and resumed her conversation with Abi.
Noah scurried out of the spacious booth and descended the stairs to the first floor. It was now packed with people, unlike the VIP lounge, and he had a hard time making it to the exit. Once he managed to leave the club, he headed toward the beach, wondering which way Reign would’ve gone.
He didn’t have to speculate for long, his eyes zeroing in on the slim figure and fire-touched hair of the diplomat who was standing under a street lamp by the dusty stairs leading to the sand. Leaning forward onto the railing, Reign seemed to be waiting.
“I thought you were going for a walk… Reign,” Noah said, shivers racing down his spine as the man’s name left his mouth. He rested his elbows on the chilly metal, mimicking Reign, and propped his chin in his palms.
“I was waiting for you to join me,” Reign replied, angling his head so he could meet Noah’s gaze. “Noah.”
Noah felt his blood stirring, all of his other senses just as attuned to Reign as his hearing. It was both exhilarating and nerve-wrecking to be around Reign. Noah was overly self-conscious of the littlest of things, like the way the light’s reflection danced playfully in those unusual eyes currently holding him hostage. Here outside, where the air was fresh, he could also catch Reign’s scent—charred earth, like that after a fire. He’d smelled it before as everyone across war-torn Europe had, but it wasdifferent this time, with a hint of something he couldn’t pinpoint but which called out to him, made him want to inhale deeply and fill his lungs with Reign.
He barely resisted.
“Shall we?” Reign pushed back off the railing, head dipping to indicate the ramp to their left.
“Yeah, sure.”
The wooden steps creaked under their weight as they descended from the street level to the boardwalk. The briny scent of the sea overpowered everything else down here, a comforting, familiar smell Noah let wash over him.
“Just so you know, I’m supposed to be giving you a lecture,” he disclosed, not suppressing the amusement from creeping into his voice. “About how great the Holy Empire is and how wrong you are to challenge said greatness.”
Reign chuckled. “But you won’t be, because, Noah, I don’t think you share that worldview.”
“I…” Noah licked around his mouth and swallowed. “I don’t think you were in the wrong,” he gave as an answer, wondering if he was being too reckless.
Too trusting, too open. He didn’t really know Reign, but that didn’t seem to matter, not when it just felt right not to hide who he was. Something in Reign just encouraged Noah to be his true self, and it was impossible to resist that temptation, not when it came from this man who was such a perfect embodiment of Noah’s deepest desires.
The waves splashed softly and Noah gazed at them. Foam sparkled under the light of the moon while night birds sang in the distance and car tires screeched somewhere on the street they’d left behind. It was pleasant and eerie, being here with no one but Reign, like the two of them existed alone on this beach, cut off from the rest ofthe world and the rules Noah had to obey. He wanted to ask Reign a million things, wanted to know and at the same time not know what life outside the Holy Empire’s grasp was like.
“So, uh, where are you from?” Noah asked after contemplating the question for longer than he probably should have.
“I live in Seoul. But… I’m originally from Europe somewhere,” Reign said, looking past Noah at the dark sea. His eyes stayed there and he didn’t elaborate.
Reign’s place of birth being Europe made sense, actually. It explained his fairer complexion, his hair, his eye color. Even if people outside the confines of the Holy Empire had freedom of movement not limited by borders, certain traits still dominated each area.
“You are?” Noah prompted belatedly.
“Yes. But my parents moved to Seoul… right after I was born.”
“Ah.” Noah offered a small smile. If only his had done the same back in the day when people could leave this wretched continent. “I see. Do they also live in Seoul?”
Reign regarded Noah, watching, observing. “They both passed away a long time ago.”
Noah chastised himself for being tactless, but, well, his own parents were dead too, so he supposed he was excused. “Mine passed away, too. During the war. Do you have any siblings?” Was he being too nosy? But hewantedto know.
Reign smiled and there was something painfully sad in it, which settled deep in Noah’s chest. “I had an older sister, but she’s gone as well.”
“I, uh, I’m sorry. For probing,” Noah offered, feeling awkward, but, strangely, not like he’d overstepped.
