Once Victoria was sound asleep, Kai kissed her lips as his hand fondly caressed the crest of her pregnant belly. In reaction, the most dominant offspring stirred with an energetic kick beneath his palm.
"You better let your mommy sleep, Lestat," Kai affectionately crooned to his little one.
With some more wrestling and fidgeting inside Victoria's womb, a warm-hearted smile faintly tugged on Kai's lips as he felt how Lestat assertively nudged his already sleeping siblings aside so he could reach a spot on the right side of the womb.
"You're going to be such a handful, like me," Kai softly chuckled, amused at how Lestat was that determined to claim his preferred space above Victoria's right hip bone.
For whatever bizarre reason, Kai noticed Lestat was always persistent in claiming his favorite spot. Often, he would even force his brother and sister out of there just so he could attain it for himself, which caused some fuss amongst them inside Victoria's cramped belly.
Happily snuggled into his cozy space, Kai sensed the gentle vibrations of Lestat's purring that indicated he was drifting to sleep like his brother and sister.
After Kai kissed Victoria's head, which felt noticeably warmer than usual, he stood from the bed and fastened the last remaining buttons on his black dress shirt. Exiting the bedroom, he found his three advisors engrossed in a quiet conversation at the island bar.
Still seated at the small table near the balcony, Ian remained wide awake as his fingers busily typed in multiple text conversations with his friends, including Lily, who currently captured his attention the most over the others.
Around Ian's head, Kai glimpsed outside the balcony's window, where his eyes briefly fixated on the setting sunlight that shimmered in an unusual orange-crimson color.
In one of his steely moods, Kai coldly insisted, "We need to leave before my father shows up to stop me."
He was acutely aware that his father would gladly drag him back home the second he arrived, and that mere thought alone aggravated him deeply. Locating Vlad was a critical priority that hassled his mind too excessively. Among all the vampires in his Collin family, Kai believed his grandfather's wisdom could significantly improve the odds of Victoria's survival to a far better percentage than what it is now.
"We're ready to leave," Glenn affirmed before he topped off the remaining blood in his wine glass.
Next to Glenn on the barstool, Rome nonchalantly asked, "Who's going and staying behind?"
"Jack will stay to watch over Victoria and Ian," Kai affirmed, knowing Jack's gift could pick up threats quicker than any of them, which made him the perfect candidate to protect them. "Jack, I'll need you to take extra care of Victoria. She's running a slight fever from exhaustion," he addressed.
Turning around from facing Glenn and Rome to give Kai his undivided attention with his elbow on the countertop, "Is she decent?" Jack inquired, concerned about her comfort with him entering her bedroom since he needed to tend to her fever.
"She's wearing a robe. The fever is mild, but I want to prevent it from worsening," Kai informed him, expressing the stress in his tone.
With a genuine smile, Jack reassured him, "Don't worry. I'll ensure she's safe and stable."
Kai nodded in contentment for Jack's trustworthiness. As a vampire whose bloodline stemmed from a lineage of advisor-ranked vampires, Jack possessed deadly abilities. However, towards his Alphas and the followers of the Collin Coven, Jack was considerate and would never harm or deceive any of them.
With their decision made, Kai, Glenn, and Rome departed from the outdoor balcony, soaring like phantoms through the darkening sky as they searched for some live human prey to feed on first. By the time they arrived at Egypt's most popular museum, darkness had fully shrouded the sky as the moonlight twinkled with an overcasting umbrage.
Inside the museum's dimly lit setting, spooky shadows crept along the galleries, illuminated by these small amounts of sporadic beams of light that shone here and there. However, despite the lack of brightness, their keen vision lit the surroundings as bright as the daylight.
Flashlights suddenly scanned through the nearby galleries as the security guards maintained a watchful eye throughout the building. Unaware of what danger lurked within the lobby, three men inspected the area as Kai, Glenn, and Rome hid their shadowy forms in the umbra of an early-age pillar.
Once the men moved along, Glenn quietly suggested to avoid the security guards from overhearing him, "Let's start with the basement and work our way up."
"Sounds like a plan," Kai nodded in approval of the idea.
"Shouldn't we split up?" Rome questioned in a near whisper. "We could cover more floors if we did."
"Normally, I'd agree, but I think it's best to stick closely together in case other vampires show up," Kai decided after thoroughly thinking about it.
"Good call," Glenn concurred. "We're outnumbered if we cross any enemies."
"Fair point," Rome shrugged in agreement.
Once Glenn located the stairs, they descended below and meticulously examined every mummy. Most of the ancient corpses were either piled in countless corners or spread out on metal examining tables. As they checked each one, a grim reality became apparent as a majority of these early-age humans had perished at the hands of vampires. Ancient Egypt had always been a renowned hunting ground for their Kind.
"They're not here," Kai grumbled with disappointment as his voice was barely audible when he muttered to himself, "How could he do this to me?"
Steady in his voice, Glenn touched his shoulder, softly soothing Kai, "We still need to check the galleries above us."
Without Victoria around to calm him, Glenn understood the importance of keeping Kai equanimous. With one snap, he knew Kai's fury would unleash on the security guards if they crossed their path. And so far, they successfully avoided them, which Glenn wished to keep it that way. Although he was somewhat amazed that they hadn't run into the guards by now, and if they did, there wouldn't be any way to stop Kai from indulging in his primal instincts to feast on them.
Keeping his temper on the chilled side, Kai murmured as he moved forward, "Let's hurry this up."
Spread out, they searched throughout the galleries, staying within the same area to examine every publicly displayed mummy.
"Now, this is intriguing," Kai remarked with a snicker at the irony as he stared at the mummy showcased behind a glass case.
"Is Vlad here?" Glenn eagerly inquired as he circled a well-preserved sarcophagus. His heart nearly leaped with excitement.
"No, but it's someone else I've been intending to find," Kai sneered with an evil smirk as he peered into the hollow brown eye sockets of the remains.
Shocked to see who Kai was referring to, Glenn exclaimed louder than he meant to, "How did he end up here?"
"Who?" beside Kai's right shoulder, Rome's voice quietly chimed in as he randomly popped out through the thin air before he peered down.