Reign was a demon. Demons weren’t like humans; they didn’t get attached, they didn’t love or want or need in the same way, Noah had known that all along, yet here he was, his heart shattering all over again.
“He can’t just toss me aside to some other demon just because he doesn’t want me!” Noah yelled, unable to contain his agitation.
“Check for yourself,” Barbatos replied calmly, nodding toward Noah’s groin.
Gritting his teeth, Noah angled his leg to the side to reveal his inner thigh. The sigil was still there, proving that his soul belonged to Hell just like Barbatos had said. However, it was different, and not only because its color was a dark gray instead of black. It no longer depicted the V with the crown and the crosses and crescents, but the original design it was based on: the chalice with the inverted triangle that the Church feared so much.
Lucifer’s seal.
“Why?”Noah buried his head in his palms. “Why wouldn’t he just take it? Why didn’t he just wait it out?”Why did he give me up right at the end?
Barbatos approached, crouching down next to Noah and raking a hand through his hair. “I told you, kitten. Maybe he got bored, maybe he found someone else more interesting and didn’t want to bother with you anymore. It doesn’t matter.”
But it did matter. Maybe if Reign had given up on Noah at the start, it wouldn’t have, but not now.
Through tears, Noah reached over and grabbed his phone from atop the pile of clothes. If Barbatos wasn’t willing to give Noah a satisfactory explanation, then Noah would call Reign and ask him. Shout at him, too, for leaving like this.
He didn’t get the chance to do either. His call got redirected to voicemail, the female voice on the other end telling him the dialed number didn’t exist. The sinking feeling in his stomach returned, flooding the rest of him and coiling around his heart in a vice-like grip that left him wheezing.
“Don’t make that face, kitten. What did you expect?” Barbatos scoffed, though there wasn’t any mockery in it. “We demons use and then move on. That’s all. Ah, but you are lucky your contract got picked up. I have no idea what would have happened to your soul otherwise.”
Noah didn’t have the capacity to ponder that, not when the unspoken goodbye hurt so much. The time he had spent with Reign had been beneficial to both, he truly believed that, yet Reign had just left, discarding Noah without a word of explanation.
For a while, Noah didn’t respond, simply staring at the wall as he let the tears flow freely.
“What about my wish?” he eventually asked, recalling that he had never actually gotten the chance to make it. His confession… that didn’t count after all, because Reign couldn’t reciprocate love and grant Noah’s wish.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s anything that can be done about that.” Barbatos said, giving him an apologetic smile. “I have to go now,” he announced, standing up. “Try to enjoy yourself and the time you have left, kitten. And good luck with the spying; you’re probably going to need it.”
Noah should have probably asked about that last remark, but he couldn’t muster the strength for it. He curled into a ball on the floor, watching the demon leave. His eyes closed on their own as darkness beckoned him. He let it envelop him, needing that temporary escape from the pain of Reign abandoning him, and wished that when he woke up next, this would all turn out to be just a nightmare.
32
Noah squared his shoulders, composed his expression and entered the data center he had no business entering. His heart raced and his nerves were on the edge, but he didn’t let it show. He’d taken a massive risk coming here, but he hoped the hat and the wig he had put on for disguise would suffice. As for the cameras and someone recognizing him—unless he fucked up today, there was no reason for anyone to review those recordings.
“Hi there, can I help you?” the receptionist asked, lifting her brown gaze from the computer screen. She was local, but despite that, a golden cross hung around her neck, proof that the Church’s influence was already spreading even among those of a younger age.
Noah placed the case with tools on the floor and smiled. “Hi, I’m Sam from Aerco Repairs. Here to have a look at your server room AC?” He produced the fake ID he’d put together and printed, hoping she wouldn’t notice it lacked that subtle iridescent stripe authentic ones had.
The woman spared it a quick glance and shifted her attention back to her screen, evidently in a hurry to get this sorted so she could go for her lunch break.Just as Noahhad planned it.
“You’re booked for Friday,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“No way,” Noah played along, pulling up his phone where he had the fake calendar ready. Leaning over the reception desk’s wooden top, he showed it to her. “Are you sure?”
She double-checked, shrugging. “Pretty sure.”
“Well damn, they must’ve booked me wrong, then.” Channeling exasperation, he sighed. “It’s a special piece of equipment and I had to come all the way from Gunsan, too…” he trailed off, let a pause settle between them, and sighed again. “Do you think I can have a look today since I’m here anyway?”
“Uh… I don’t know… You’d need to talk to the manager.”
Noah pulled back and stuffed the phone in his pocket, flashing her his killer smile. “Sure, can I do that now?”
She didn’t seem particularly excited about it. “Right, yeah.”
It took about fifteen minutes to get the manager to answer the phone. They didn’t weren’t happy about the lunchtime interruption if the receptionist’s flinch was any indication, but that was what Noah had counted on and why he’d timed his visit this way.
The call didn’t last long. Once the receptionist hung up, she handed him a temporary visitor’s pass, locked the front door and led him via the staircase at the back to the sublevel with the server room.
