Damn Kristoff. Damn Alec. Damn, damn, damn.

"Hardly. But about this, we agree—the council wants to see you. He can't take you all the way to them, so I've been elected babysitter."

"Babysitter!" I gasped, outraged.

To my utmost surprise, a quick smile flickered on his lips. "I thought you might appreciate that term."

I was too incensed to be charmed by the smile, even though I had a feeling there were few enough of them. "So you intend to haul me in front of this vampire court? To charge me for crimes against other vampires? You know, as tempting as that thought is, I think I'll pass. A few days ago, I didn't even know you guys existed. I'm sorry that your girlfriend died at the hands of the Brotherhood, but I'm not going to make myself a martyr over it."

At the mention of his girlfriend, Kristoff's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He said nothing, however, just kept driving.

I had no intention of being dragged out of the country, either. "Do you have any knockout drugs with you?" I asked in as calm and sweet a voice as I could muster.

He shot me a startled glance. "No."

"I see. Perhaps you have a gun?"

He frowned. "I prefer bladed weapons to guns."

"Ah. And do you have any knives, daggers, swords, axes, or other weaponry that might possess a blade upon you at this very moment?"

Another quick glance showed I had his interest. "At this moment? No. I left them behind since it's hard to get them through airport security."

"I imagine it is."

"In case you had any ideas, I'll point out that I don't need a weapon to defend myself."

"Indeed." I was silent for a moment. "How about a Taser?"

His frown deepened. "What, exactly, are you getting at? That I'm unarmed? I admit to that, but if you think you can overpower me, you're sadly mistaken."

I smiled at him. "You yourself admitted you have no hypnotic powers, so how, exactly, do you propose to get me onto a plane?"

The light of understanding dawned in his eyes, his jaw and fingers tightening. "You wouldn't."

"On the contrary, I most definitely would. I will make the biggest scene that has ever been made in an airport. I will attract the attention of anyone with ears in a five-mile radius. I will bring down the full force of security, airport officials, and airplane employees. In short, I will throw the hissy fit to end all hissy fits. You'll have to drug me or knock me out to get me onto a plane, and I'm willing to bet that much as you talk tough, you're not going to hurt me."

He pulled the car over to the side of the road, and before I could even take a breath, he was leaning over me, one hand on my throat, squeezing out almost all the air. "I have killed reapers before, and will kill them again. What makes you think you're any different?"

"You didn't marry any of them," I croaked, realizing with some surprise that something had changed since I'd spent the night with Kristoff—I no longer feared him.

His lips pulled back. "That was a sacrifice on my part to keep you from gaining your full powers."

"A sacrifice that ruined my life as well as yours," I said, swallowing as his fingers released their grip slightly. A little song of triumph sang in my head. I was right—he wasn't going to hurt me. He might be a revenge-motivated vampire, a man who thought nothing about killing those who tortured his own people, but there was something in him, something honorable that I must have sensed during the night.

His eyes narrowed in question.

"Not that I believe for one minute that the marriage ceremony you forced me into was legal, but let's just say it was. Did you ever stop to wonder what happens if you find a woman you really do want to marry? Or me? What if I run into the man of my dreams tomorrow? I won't be able to marry him."

"Marriage is a mortal legality." He snorted, releasing my throat to sit back in his seat. "It means nothing to Dark Ones."

"Well, it means something to me," I said, rubbing my throat. "And you ruined any chance I had of having happiness with a man."

His fingers twitched. "You do realize if you create a scene at the airport the police will be down upon you instantly?"

"Oh, I realize that. And thank you, I think I'd rather take my chances with the Icelandic police than a kangaroo court filled with vengeful vampires."

He sat staring out of the front window for a few minutes, clearly realizing that he wasn't going to be able to bully me into submitting to his wishes. "I should just dump you on Alec's lap and let him deal with you."

"I really do need to talk to him," I said, indulging in a little frown of my own. There was a lot I wanted to ask him, but more importantly, I needed to see how he felt about me. If he wanted to continue a relationship, I'd have to tell him about the night spent with Kristoff. And I could just imagine what his reaction would be to that.

Kristoff hesitated for another couple of seconds, then slammed his hands on the wheel and jerked the car into a very illegal, and highly dangerous, U-turn. "I will take you to Alec. I am through with this."

What was "this" I wondered? Me? The whole situation? Seeking revenge for his girlfriend's death? I pondered that, and what I was going to say to Alec, while he drove us back to town.

Chapter 12

I blinked a few times to adjust my vision to the relatively dim light of the library as compared to the bright sunshine outside, smiling at a librarian who glanced up at me as I made my way to the very back of the library where I remembered that a small clutch of study carrels were arranged against the wall. As I thought, the area was empty. I plopped down on one of the carrels and waited.

"There you are!" Marta appeared out of nothing and wafted over toward me. "We were worried when you didn't come back! Is everything all right?"

"As all right as we can expect. I'm sorry I couldn't call you like I did the Brotherhood folk and let you know I was OK, but obviously, that wasn't possible with you all. Where are the others? Oh. Good morning, everyone. Can you gather around, please? I'm going to have to talk kind of quiet so no one overhears. Er… please remain transparent, too. We don't need to wig out some innocent library patron."

The ghosts appeared one by one, forming a small circle around me, each of them with an expectant look that I hated to dash, however briefly. "First of all, I'm very sorry for disappearing last night and not coming back. I ran into a… well, you can call it a situation with Kristoff, and I couldn't get back here until now."

Ingveldur exchanged a knowing glance with Old Agda, who cackled rustily and said, "Had your wedding night, did you? I told you that man of yours looked like a lively one."

My cheeks flared in response. "It wasn't a wedding night."

"Eh? Then why're you blushing like my arse after a soak in the hot spring?" Agda asked.

"It wasn't like that," I said quickly, intending to move on to important points.

"Maybe he wasn't any good," one of the other women said. "Maybe he didn't have stamina. I said it was important. A man needs to be able to last more than a few pokes."

"He lasted just fine—" I stopped myself, closing my eyes for a moment to avoid looking at the amusement in Agda's eyes. "My evening activities notwithstanding, I do have some news."

"You're with child?" Ingveldur said, her eyebrows raised. "That was quick work, although if he was particularly skillful, not surprising."

"I am not pregnant!" I said loudly, running my hands through my hair in agitation.

A woman with a handful of books paused at the nearest aisle and leaned out to look at me. I gave her a feeble smile. "Sorry."

She sniffed and moved away.

"Listen," I said, trying to will the blush to fade. My cheeks felt so hot I could probably fry an egg on them. "Last night I talked with the Brotherhood people. They explained to me how the whole Zorya thing works. I had to get married to one of their people, a man who represents the sun, to start the process of gaining powers. The next step is a ceremony tonight."