Page 256 of Reign

“Upstairs.”

I look at the abandoned ingredients. “What about the s’mores?”

“After.”

His hand closes around mine.

I glance up at his face again.

Whatever changed while I was discussing the list has not changed back.

“Luciano—”

“Upstairs, princesa.”

He leads me out of the kitchen. The s’mores have to wait. Apparently, the list cannot.

I let Luciano lead me upstairs.

He says come, and my body accepts the instruction before my brain finishes objecting.

“You didn’t need to bring me all the way upstairs to discuss the list.”

“The list is upstairs.”

“You could have said that before confiscating my chocolate.”

“I didn’t confiscate anything.”

“It was in my hands. Now it isn’t.”

“You’ll get it back.”

“Doubtful.”

Luciano glances over his shoulder.

There’s no smile, but something warmer moves briefly through his eyes before disappearing again.

He leads me into his bedroom and releases my hand beside the bed.

I watch him cross to the nightstand.

He opens the drawer and removes a leather-bound book.

The list.

He keeps it beside his bed?

Luciano retrieves a pen from the same drawer and sits on the edge of the mattress. He opens the book to the page holding the seven names he chose for me.

Zephyr Blackwell is already buried beneath the lines we drew.

Throne Kingston still has my star beside his name.

Luciano studies it for a moment.

“You really hate that star.”