Page 42 of The Forsaken Vampire

“I ordered two.”

“Could use something warm.”

We drank our beer and sat in silence for a while. Ian was tense, his eyes on his beer or out the window, as if he dreaded the question that he knew was coming. When I didn’t ask, he moved on. “Did you tell her about Harlow?”

“Yes. She told me to treat Harlow the way I treat Atticus.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Has Lila had any suitors?”

“None that I know of.”

The barmaiden brought the pot roast with a loaf of bread to share. Her eyes lingered on mine, knowing exactly who I was before she retreated to the bar to serve the other patrons.

With our elbows on the table, we ate without manners, our wives not there to patrol our dinner behavior.

When he didn’t mention it himself, I went for it. “You can tell me, or I can ask. How do you want to play this?” Ian and I didn’t have deep conversations about anything. I never shared the details of my relationship with Ivory. He knew me better than most people, but he still didn’t know the depth of my thoughts, not like my wife did.

He dipped his bread in the stew, soaking it until he popped it into his mouth.

“Alright, then.” I abandoned my food and stared at him. “What happened?”

Ian still didn’t say anything, like he wasn’t ready to talk about it. “Mother tell you?”

“I figured it out the moment we got here.” Ivory would never treat me with indifference, would never disrespect me like that. It was as if Avice didn’t care whether Ian lived or died. She probably didn’t even know he’d left. “I asked her for details, but she protected your privacy.”

“I thought you were the favorite.”

“Even if I were, she’s still loyal to you.”

He continued to eat, drawing it out as long as possible. There was barely any stew left in his bowl, but he continued to soak it up with his bread, just for something to do. “We’ve been separated awhile.”

“Why?”

“Because I fucked up, Huntley.” Once the words were out, he pushed his food aside, as if the truth destroyed his appetite.

I felt the pity enter my gaze when he probably didn’t deserve it. “Don’t stick your dick in other women. It’s not hard, Ian.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that—”

“It’s not.” I would never violate my commitment to my wife. There were offers when she wasn’t looking, from the maidens in the castle to women my daughter’s age in the bar. Never once was I tempted.

Ian looked out the window, the cold appearing as frost in the corners. “A few months ago, she found out she was pregnant…”

My eyes narrowed because I hadn’t anticipated a tale like this.

“It was unplanned, obviously. We tried to give Lila a sibling for a very long time, and it was hard on Avice when we couldn’t. She assumed it was her fault, no matter how many times I told her I could be the problem, not her. So, when she found out she was pregnant, she was overjoyed…and I wasn’t.”

I listened to my brother, my eyes on his face while he continued to stare out the window.

“The kid would be twenty years younger than Lila, so that’s not much of a sibling. Plus, at Avice’s age…you know.”

I gave a nod in understanding.

“I suggested we terminate it…and that upset her. She wanted another baby so much that she couldn’t think clearly. She couldn’t consider all the risk factors, the fact that this didn’t really benefit Lila, because if we both died, Lila would be the one raising it in our place when that shouldn’t be her responsibility.”

I would have known if Ian had another child, so I already knew how this story would end.