His Second Chance Read online

  “Petyr? Are you all right?”

  Petyr waved his concern away. “Just thinking.” He eyed the glass. “What is it?”

  Rollo held the glass out to him. “My blood. It’s been mixed with pomegranate juice so it shouldn’t taste too bad.”

  Petyr stared up at him, not sure what to say.

  “What are you afraid of?” Rollo asked.

  Reaching out, Petyr took the glass. “I’m not afraid.” He took a tentative sip. Moments later, the ache in his head had eased, so he took a longer drink. He lowered the glass and said, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Finish drinking that while I go get the doctor.”

  “So he can tell me I have to let you turn me?”

  “I’m sure he will say that. But because it’s your best shot, not because of anything I’ve said to him.”

  Petyr looked down into the glass. Except for a slight metallic taste, it wasn’t bad. “I’ll drink as much of this as you want, if I must, but I don’t want to be a vampire.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  Petyr downed the rest of the liquid, amazed at how much better he felt already. He put the glass on the side table and said, “I don’t want to bury my children. Watch them grow old and weak. Age faster than me. Don’t you get that? Don’t vampires ever think about that?”

  “I’ll admit it didn’t occur to me right away, but yes, vampires do think about those things. Some vampires keep to themselves so much because it’s unbearable to think of being close to people you’re sure to outlive. Some vampires are snobs, but some distance themselves from humans to avoid pain.” He sat on the bed beside Petyr. “Think of everyone you love. All your friends. Imagine burying every single one of them.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be insulting, but vampires do tend to think they can fix anything. With their power. With money.”

  “Like it or not, money and power are usually the best ways to fix things. Not just for vampires.” He sighed. “Look at it another way. If you’re a vampire, you’ll be able to care for and protect your children every day of their lives. They won’t have to endure the pain of your death. And you won’t have to fear leaving them.”

  Petyr frowned, his gaze focused on the rug at his feet.

  Rollo rose and moved to the door. “I’m going to get the doctor.”

  “You make a good point,” Petyr said quietly. Rollo stopped, and Petyr looked up at him. “They warned me this could affect my mind. My confusion and forgetfulness is what pointed them in the right direction with my diagnosis. At first they just thought I was overworking myself trying to take care of the twins and support them.”

  “You feel better now? More clearheaded?”

  Petyr nodded slowly. “You’re being very kind. I’m sorry if I’ve said anything to offend you. I … it’s hard to even remember the last few minutes since you came in. Yesterday is fuzzy as well.”

  Rollo came over and knelt before him. Petyr’s heart raced as the handsome man took both of his hands. “Just trust me. Please. Hear the doctor out. Let me take care of you. And the children.”

  “I can do that,” Petyr said.

  Rollo squeezed his hands and left the room.

  Petyr stood up, having no trouble at all this time. He thought again about what Rollo had said the past few minutes, and a little of it was clearer. As well trained as the horses were, he and the children could easily have had an accident. He hugged himself as he closed his eyes and thanked the gods he’d made it to Rollo’s.

  But should I really let him turn me? He can say he won’t expect anything, but the way he keeps looking at me says he already expects a great deal.

  Rollo’s eyes had been gray moments ago, and Petyr didn’t know the man well enough to know what that meant. Vampires had white irises, and the color changed according to mood. Only two colors were universally consistent, red and black. Red indicated the desire for blood, or anger, and black indicated sexual desire. All other colors had different meanings that family and friends would learn over time. He knew that blue meant happy for Rollo because his eyes had been blue almost all the time when they’d first met.

  I was happy, too, I think. I was nervous, and still upset about Nora breaking things off, but I enjoyed talking with him. Would it all have worked out if Nora hadn’t been pregnant? Would I have accepted the mate bond? Would he still have wanted me once we got to know one another better? Is he even considering that now, or is he just romanticizing it all?

  An older man came into the room then. “Well, you’re looking much better than when I arrived last night.”

  “I do feel better.”

  “I’m Raymond. Why don’t you sit so I can listen to your heart and lungs? Check your pulse and everything else.”

  Petyr sat on the bed and let the doctor examine him. The man seemed pleased with what he was finding, and he smiled when he was done.

  “Well, your heartbeat is steadier and stronger. Your skin isn’t as clammy. You’re breathing more deeply. I was very concerned about the shallow breathing since you didn’t wake up after your collapse. I made sure they understood you needed to be watched last night.” He pointed to the decanter. “Keep drinking it. As much as you can, but slowly. Give your body time to absorb it. You feel better?”

  “Yes. My headache has eased. My muscles aren’t as sore. And my mind is clearer, more focused. I still feel rundown but not like before.”

  “Good. My recommendation is to let Rollo turn you right away, but he says that isn’t what you want?” The doctor tilted his head, eyeing Petyr skeptically.

  “It’s not what I came here looking for. We … things didn’t go smoothly when we discovered we were mates. There was someone else, and she was pregnant. I couldn’t break my promise for someone I’d just met.”

  “I understand more than you know. My mother was a vampire’s fated mate, but she was already in love with my father. It was hard, but in the end she had a happy life. Life thrives on its own messiness sometimes.”

  “Certainly seems that way.” A thought floated back to him, something Helen had said about his timing. Rollo had come in, and he’d never gotten to find out what she meant. Blinking, he came back to the present. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll stay one more night, but then I must get back to the village. Just ask for me if you need anything.”

  “I will,” Petyr said as the man left the room. He lay down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Did the gods plan this? Did they know Nora would die? That I would get sick? And if they did, why did they do nothing? He frowned. Or did they pick Rollo because of all that? He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Now that he was thinking more clearly, his head hurt for an entirely different reason.

  Chapter Two

  Rollo tied his hair back and then put on a clean shirt. The children seemed to have taken to him, which made him very happy, but he’d just learned his first childcare lesson the hard way. From now on, he would always ask how recently a child had eaten before spinning them around in the air. He went back into the sitting room where the children played on a blanket with Helen. She’d cleaned Adam up, and now both children were trying to eat the wooden blocks she’d brought them.

  “They do like to chew on things, don’t they?” Rollo said as he got down on the floor with them.

  “They’re teething. It starts at about six months. Different for every child. I think Ellie’s teeth are coming in a bit faster. She already has two more than Adam does.”

  Rollo lay on his stomach and built a little tower with some blocks.

  Adam watched him a moment before reaching over and taking one. He dropped it right away but then tried again.

  “I have so much to learn,” Rollo said.

  “It’ll be fine. All just sort of falls into place when you aren’t looking,” Helen said. She nodded to the bedroom. “He still sleeping?”

  “Yes. But the doctor is very optimistic.”

  “At least he’s drinking the blood. Ma
ybe once he feels better he’ll see what has to be done.”

  Ellie crawled over to her, a bit wobbly as she still tried, unsuccessfully, to clutch her block at the same time. She pulled on Helen’s skirt with one hand and tried to pick up the block again with her other.

  Helen pulled Ellie into her lap. “I don’t see how he can give up, with these little ones needing him.”

  “I was talking to the doctor about Sanghex and all its forms. He took a little sample of blood last night and tested it. Petyr does have a very aggressive form. It can drive people mad in a matter of months, they say. They only found out exactly what was wrong a few weeks ago. Even though he may have seemed normal, he might not have been thinking clearly or logically when he arrived.”

  “Gods, how would you even know to test for it? What do you do? I thought most didn’t know they had it until it was too far gone.”

  “Sadly, that usually is the case. Doctors often don’t test for it until they’ve run out of other possibilities.” Rollo started building a little castle for Adam, who was now chewing on the end of the blanket and a block at the same time. “You’re not going to believe it. I thought the doctor was joking…”

  “What? Tell me?”

  “Well, this type of detection was discovered by accident,” he said. “Though he didn’t explain how. I’d certainly like to know. Anyway, a doctor takes seeds from a demon poppy. Not dried ones, they have to be fresh ones. Apparently herbalists grow them and sell bottles to doctors on a rotation. But they drop them in a saucer of the blood. If the blood is toxic—not just infected, but actually toxic like in forms of Sanghex—they pop out of the saucer, all on their own.”

  She frowned before her eyebrows popped up. “Sounds like something in a children’s story to me.”

  “That’s what I thought. But then he showed me.”

  She leaned in. “You actually saw it?”

  Rollo nodded. “Yes.”

  “Hmmm. Is it literally a hex then? Did a demon do this to him?” She gave a little shudder and held Ellie closer.

  “I don’t know. That’s where the name came from hundreds of years ago, when most things were blamed on demonic influence, but what could he have done to be cursed?”

  She shuddered again. “Oh, let’s talk about something else. I’m gonna give myself nightmares.”

  Rollo reached over and smoothed down Adam’s hair. “It is a scary thought. And it would make sense. Vampire blood is one of the only ways to treat it, and even that’s not always certain. I can easily believe such a ravaging disease is evil. Demonic magic.”

  Adam knocked down the blocks and began kicking his feet.

  Rollo laughed. “I think Adam wants to talk of happier things as well.” He started on a new structure with the blocks.

  Footsteps sounded in the other room a couple of minutes later, and Rollo turned his head. Petyr appeared in the doorway and nodded in greeting. “Sorry if we woke you,” Rollo said.

  “No, it’s fine. I thought I was completely alone at first. Couldn’t hear you at all on the other side of the room.” He rubbed his eyes and knelt on the blanket. He kissed Adam on the head and gave Ellie a smile. She reached out for him, and Helen handed her over.

  “Well, I best be getting back to the inn,” she said, rising very quickly and leaving without waiting for a reply.

  Petyr stared at the door for a minute before returning his attention to Ellie. “Is that block good? It must be, given the amount of slobber I see.”

  “Helen pointed out they’re teething. Is there anything they need?” Rollo said.

  “They haven’t had too hard of a time yet,” Petyr said. “Though sometimes it keeps them from sleeping well.”

  “They didn’t seem to stir at all last night, though they woke at sunrise.”

  “They were probably exhausted. I stretched the trip over two days, thinking that would be good enough, but it’s thrown their routine off.”

  “Perhaps they’ll settle into a new one before too long.”

  “The three of us should go back to a room in the inn. I can’t keep taking up your bedroom.”

  “There are plenty of rooms here, but mine was the only one made up at the time. I don’t mind you staying in my room, but I understand if you’d prefer to be elsewhere. I can move you into the bedroom across the hall. Move the crib in there as well if you want them closer.”

  “Yes, you shouldn’t have to worry about them now that I’m feeling better.”

  “I don’t mind. Helen’s doing far more than I am.”

  “I don’t want to put her out either.”

  Rollo smiled as Adam grabbed his arm and used it to push himself to his feet. He wobbled for a moment and then took two steps.

  “Close the doors so he doesn’t run off, please,” Petyr said.

  Rollo rose and did so before coming back to kneel by Petyr. “You aren’t putting anyone out. Helen is thrilled to have the children here.”

  Petyr looked down. “You must’ve told them a lot about me. They both seemed stunned when they found out who I was.” He lifted his gaze. “And Helen practically bolted out of here a few minutes ago.”

  “They’re both the kind of people who think everything happens for a reason.”

  “When I got here, Helen said something about my timing. She said it was interesting. But then you came in so I couldn’t get her to explain.”

  Rollo frowned. “I’m not sure what she meant.”

  “I don’t want to get her in trouble or anything. But it does seem she’s made up her mind about what’s going to happen.”

  “Yes, I’m sure she has. But she’s a romantic.”

  “You are, too. At least, that’s what you said when we met.”

  “I am. I do think…” He hesitated, suddenly realizing what Helen had probably meant by her comment.

  “What?” Petyr asked.

  Rollo tried to think of a good lie, but his imagination failed him. “Helen is also a matchmaker. There’s a woman who has shown a lot of interest in me over the years. There’s a party next week, and she’ll be there. I don’t like parties very much, but Helen persuaded me to accept the invitation. She’s been trying to get me to move on for months, and I promised her I would keep an open mind.”

  “You like this woman?”

  “She’s pleasant and cheerful. Beautiful. But I find her a bit shallow. I think she likes the fact I’m a vampire as much as she likes everything else about me put together. She was widowed young and is definitely looking to remarry. She has other suitors, but she does seem to be holding out for someone like me.”

  “Lots of humans are like that. Girls in my village were always talking about vampires. What it would be like to be mated to one.”

  “It’s understandable. Living a much longer life. Never getting sick anymore. Being better off financially. People tend to think all their problems would simply vanish if they turned out to be a vampire’s mate. But it’s not true.”

  Ellie wiggled out of Petyr’s arms and crawled to her brother, who had made his way to a large window and was babbling at whatever he saw outside.

  Petyr watched them as he said, “I’d think life gets more complicated.”

  “It does, especially if the vampire has its own dominion. It can come with a lot of responsibility. Everything changes rather quickly.”

  “You must enjoy running the inn. You’ve been here a long time.”

  “I do enjoy it. I lived with my brother Athel for many years. He has his own dominion, and I liked helping him. But I wanted more.”

  “More what?”

  “I don’t know. More control. More agency. My other brother, Noric, is the same. He lived with our parents a long time.” He paused, as this next part always shocked people. “Before becoming a steward.”

  “A steward? A vampire serving as a steward?”

  “Yes. And he loves it. He works for one of King Jareth’s cousins. A small estate, but there’s lots to keep him busy.”

  “That�
��s wonderful.”

  Rollo smiled. “No one has ever had that kind of reaction before. Typically, people frown and ask why he’d want to do such a thing.”

  “Humans can try to change society all they want. But until vampires want to change it, nothing will happen.”

  “You’d like a more fluid system? Not based on hereditary power?”

  “I don’t object to the monarchy so much. There’s more freedom than there used to be, but things could still be better. People had to revolt to end the vassal system. It’s been hundreds of years since that victory was won. Not much else has changed.”

  “It’s easier to move up in society by working hard.”

  “Faster to do it through favoritism, too, though.”

  “I doubt that’s ever going to change.”

  “The magistrates do a better job. At least in most dominions. But there’s still so much crime because so many live in poverty.”

  “The wage laws could certainly use another round of revisions.” He smiled, loving the animation he saw in Petyr’s features. “You should write a pamphlet.”

  Petyr laughed and rose to kneel by the window.

  Ellie had lifted herself up by the windowsill as well, and something had the children transfixed.

  Rollo moved to sit on the floor beside them, poking Petyr to get his attention. “I’m being serious. One thing that has changed for the better is that you can’t be jailed for ideas anymore.”

  “You could write one. Using my ideas. People would listen to you.”

  “People might think I was being condescending. Or they might mock me, saying it’s easy for someone in my position to call for revolution. If you want change, call for it. Raise your voice. You don’t need a vampire to do it for you.”

  “You and your brother both work for a living. You’re living what you’d be advocating. That’s why I say others might pay more attention to your words. Some vampire lords and ladies are kind and generous. I love living in Lord Vane’s dominion because he does so much. I’ve seen him and his mate out working amongst the people. But some are cruel and selfish. They are nothing but a drain on society. Most people can’t afford to go running to the king or to another dominion if the vampire set over their dominion is bad. There has to be another way.”