She gave him a casual glance over her shoulder as she walked toward the door. “Wouldn’t I? Think hard before you make up your mind, Sebby. Think hard.”

Tessa’s mouth hung open. Pretending to be Sebastian’s fiancée was one thing. Actually becoming his wife was well more than she’d signed on for. “She wants us to get married in front of her? Tonight?”

Sebastian rubbed a hand over his eyes. “It’s so out of left field. She’s never once mentioned bringing the council into this in all the years I’ve known her. She’s just playing games.”

“Really? Because that sounds pretty serious to me.” It also sounded like Evangeline was seriously jealous of what she imagined Sebastian and Tessa had, which just confirmed Tessa’s suspicion that Evangeline really did want to be part of Sebastian’s life again. Why else would she have all those newspaper articles with his pictures?

“It is serious. That’s why she’s only now brought it up. I promise, she’s just pushing me. Trying to see if this is truly real.”

“And if we don’t get married?”

He frowned. “She’s threatened to contact the vampire council. It’s probably a bluff. I doubt she—”

“If she did, what would that mean in layman’s terms?”

His frown deepened. “She could bring charges of neglect against me as both her sire and her husband. Infidelity would be part of that. It wouldn’t be pretty.”

Tessa sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. “How does that work with vampires? With valkyries and berserkers, everything is pretty much settled by combat.” Which was one more reason not to cause trouble.

“The vampire council operates like a human court. Their rules and guidelines were established ages ago. Well before any of us were turned. They’re meant to protect all of us. Vampires, that is. And as I am Evangeline’s sire, I have certain responsibilities toward her, but those are compounded by the fact that we were married at the time of her turning. She can claim that I forced her to be turned, that I coerced her into it, that she agreed out of duty and not because it was what she truly desired. She might even say she feared what I would do if she refused.”

“Is any of that true?”

“No, of course not. She welcomed it with great enthusiasm. And if I hadn’t turned her, the chances were great that the plague killing off all those around us would have taken her too. That’s why my grandmother turned us. To save us from it.” He grunted. “Evangeline was as much a party to the turning as I was.”

“Have any of your brothers dealt with this?”

He shook his head. “Julian wasn’t married at the time my grandmother turned us. Hugh was, but his wife didn’t survive the turning.”

“How awful.” Tessa cringed at the thought. “He seems happy now.”

“He is. Delaney has done wonders for him.” Sebastian’s gaze softened for a moment, as if he was comparing Tessa to the woman his brother had married.

She shook it off. Whatever Sebastian was thinking, it had to be tainted by Evangeline’s demands. “So what are the consequences if she levels these charges against you?”

He sat beside her on the bed and stared at the intricately woven rug that covered the hardwood. “It will be a long, drawn-out affair, but if the council finds them to be true, the consequences would be…steep.”

“In plain terms, please.”

“Best-case scenario, I could be jailed for a period of time.”

“And worst case?”

A shudder wracked him. “I could be forced to face the dawn.”

Her mouth came open again. “What?”

He nodded. “The council doesn’t take these things lightly.”

“Your life could be forfeit because she’s unhappy?”

“It’s more than that. But yes. Neglect on part of a sire, where it causes hardship or loss of quality of life for the turned, is a grave offense.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But you have your amulet. You’d be safe, right?”

He smiled weakly and reached out to brush a strand of hair off her cheek. “When one is put out to face the dawn, it’s in the same state that one enters into the world. The amulet must be on me to protect me.”

Rage, both welcome and unwelcome, tripped through Tessa. The surge of emotion forced her to her feet. She turned to face him. “Are you sure she’s bluffing?”

“No, but that’s what this feels like. She wants me to admit this is all a ruse and that I still love her. That I’ll take her back.”

Tessa nodded. “I think that’s exactly what she wants. So what if you do admit this is all a lie?”

Duncan jumped onto the bed, meowing for attention. Sebastian reached out and scratched the little cat. “She will never let me forget it. Not for a second. And she will forever hold it over my head.”

Tessa imagined his life at the mercy of Evangeline. Nothing about it seemed pleasant.

He leaned his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. “I rarely muck things up so badly. And I never lie. Which is obviously where I went wrong to begin with. Perhaps I should just come clean and face whatever consequences are due me.”

Tessa snorted. “After all this? Unless that’s really what you want.”

He picked his head up. “It isn’t.”

“Then I guess we’re getting married. But I’m telling you right now, this has to come to an end with her. She cannot keep up this hold over you.”