Once Kai left the bathroom, he turned into the form of a shadow. Right between the mere cracks in the hotel door room, he slipped himself through the barely seeable cracks, leading into the corridor, and he then trekked past many clueless human guests as if he was never there. All anyone felt was a cold chill bypassing them, which caused the hair on their arms to ascend. Previously, from hearing his father summon him, Kai followed the call to the parlor room, where he took his solid form outside the room before going in.
Outside the entry, Mr. Collin had his six guardians blocking it to prevent any humans from mistakenly coming in.
Limestone colored in shell reefs, solidified the walls that hung shelves or picture frames on them here and there throughout the room, and the marble floors were carrara white that had a golden throw rug within the center of it. One marble-made fireplace was across the double-door entry to make the room look more extravagant. Already waiting for him inside the private parlor room, Kai found his brother, a handful of cousins, and everyone's advisors, including his own.
"What's this about?" Kai was the first to ask before one of the outside stationed guardians closed both long wooden white and gold doors.
Once Mr. Collin noted everyone he summoned had arrived, he answered him, starting the meeting as he sat like the king in the head chair, facing everyone else with his advisors behind him. "There are a few things I need to discuss with everyone I have summoned."
Most of the royals were in a seat or they stood around with their advisors. Nearby their father's right side, Kai took a seat by his brother on the sofa while their advisors stood behind them. Evan and his advisors sat on the couch across from them, following everyone else in the room.
"Is there an explanation for why you smell like lotus flowers, Kai?" Evan smirked at him, relaxing into the cushions as he overlapped his leg on his knee like a gentleman.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was bathing with my wife," Kai clarified, and his cousins and their friends started to chuckle.
"To smell like that, I hope you got laid," Evan teased him, making the others laugh. Aside from Mr. Collin and his advisors, they weren't amused right now because this was supposed to be a serious meeting.
"That's not any of your business," Kai responded with a muttering chuckle from holding it back.
"Shall I begin now, children?" Mr. Collin cut in, rolling his eyes at his nephews and their friends, including his two sons.
"Forgive me, Uncle Gaston," Evan respectfully said, doing his best not to chuckle along with everyone else, including Kai.
"Anyways, I called this Royal meeting because I heard the word from Edgar, our oldest Headmaster friend has told me Victoria's votes will likely be affected by the disaster that happened in Springwood," Mr. Collin got straight to one of his points that needed to be conferred on to approach this concern as a family.
"Why?" Kai growled. "We helped their community and cleaned up that mess!"
"What we did wasn't enough," Mr. Collin sighed. "Too many Covens feel she'll start a war that will affect the human race on earth."
"This is all because of humans! That is only an excuse to kill her!" Kai hissed, clenching his fist by his side.
"A lot of humans, including children died. They're a dying race because they keep killing their babies." Chester frowned, patting his shoulder to calm him, but Kai huffed, rolling his shoulder away.
"They've always killed their babies!" Kai gritted his teeth. "In the early ages of war, we used to take out whole human kingdoms!"
"Things have long changed since then. The Vampire Covenant wants to prevent that from ever occurring again," said Mr. Collin.
"As if you can stop that!" Kai growled more crudely.
"A little after your disappearance, things had been graceful between everyone's enemies," Chester told him.
"They've only been waiting for the right moment to strike," Kai shared the obvious in his mind whether his family agreed. He knew most of the more Superior Covens had only been peaceful because they'd been waiting for the last prophecy to be born. Which just so happened to be Victoria.
Briefly shaking his head, Evan appealed, getting back on the topic, "Nothing any of us did in Springwood even counted for anything? Regardless of the death total, many vampires from our allies helped us find a good deal alive, including children."
"I guess whatever anybody did wasn't enough. Now it's time for us to sort out a plan B." Mr. Collin sadly concluded. Deep inside his heart, he didn't like the idea of a plan B.
"I believe we all know what that is," Chester sighed, not liking where this was going. Unlike him, his father and a few cousins near his age felt the same way as most of his younger cousins, and Kai are more than eager to set plan B into motion.
"It's time for us to threaten the weaker Covens to ensure they vote for Victoria's life." Evan conferred evilly, and grinned more than ready to get this going.
"It may not be enough," Henry, a cousin around Chester's age voiced from the back couch as he sat across from his uncle Mr. Collin.
"Then will need to threaten the stronger Covens that aren't our allies or enemies," Kai consulted since he is determined to do anything necessary to ensure his wife's safety. At the same time, he knew this was a risky route to take, but he was desperate right now.
Evan's older brother, by six years, named Jeremiah, questioned him as he leaned on his elbow from the fireplace, "You have the guts to do that?"
"You should know me," Kai retorted, narrowing his eyes at him standing behind the couches as Jeremiah stood diagonally across from him and Chester.
"It could raise an issue of war with Covens that were never our enemies, to begin with," Jeremiah brought up to everyone's attention.
"Either way, war is doomed to come," Evan commented without looking at Jeremiah, who stood toward his left.
"Might I suggest we first offer them a bribe?" Henry tossed his opinion on the table of debate.
"We could try that first," Chester concluded.
"Then, if that fails, how should we do it?" Jeremiah asked after a long sigh. He understood there was no changing their minds.
"Threaten their loved ones, offspring, wives, human mates, whatever weakness they have, use it on them," Kai asserted aggressively with his fangs showing as he spoke. Everyone gave a nod and agreed to do whatever needed to be done.