Page 375 of Reign

“The guard is as good as dead.”

“No,” Vasilisa says.

Santo looks at her. She gives him a look.

His jaw tightens.

“Fine. A vacation,” he mutters.

I’m not entirely sure whether the guard is actually going on vacation.

I decide I don’t want to know.

“Oh, also—”

Santo’s eyes close. “What?”

“I have a gardener coming this weekend.”

His eyes open again. “For what?”

“Cuttings from the garden.”

Vasilisa lights up.

Santo does not. “The hell he is.”

“I want some of her mother’s plants.”

His shoulders drop.

Only slightly, but enough. He knows exactly why.

Vasilisa squeezes his hand. “Let him.”

“No.”

“Santo.”

“Dea.”

“It’s okay. Just let us know when you’re coming,” Vasilisa says brightly.

I nod. “Thank you, Vasilisa.”

“You’re welcome.”

Santo’s glare finds me again. “I told you not to look at my wife.”

I leave before he threatens me uselessly again.

I secure the journals in the back seat and pull away from Santo’s house. My phone lights up before I reach the gate.

Evelyn St. Clair.

I glance at the journals behind me. They carry her mother’s past.

If this call means what I think it does, Elena’s future is waiting on the other end.