**Ch 76: The Vampiric Mausoleum Meeting Chamber

Once ready, Kai and I walked out of the bedroom. With our hands laced together, we strolled down the corridor to the imperial staircase and descended the stairs. Underneath the second floor, Rose, Sharlene, Eva, Mia, and a few more vampiresses glared at Kai with bitterness etched on their faces as we passed alongside the living room where they sat.

A majority of the vampiresses weren't pleased about the idea of a bridge marriage with one of their arch-enemies, and I certainly can't blame them. From the very beginning of the early ages, they endured brutal assaults from the Somerset Coven. Not too long ago, even Mia and I were assaulted by Dylan's guardians, so I could relate to how they felt. However, I acknowledged Chester is committed to ensuring they aren't to be victimized by the Somerset Coven again.

Occasionally, Royals must make these difficult choices to secure everyone's safety, and sadly, the Royal vampiresses can not avert their decisions. Even Mrs. Collin had an altercation with Chester and her husband about the matter. In all my time I've lived here, I never witnessed Kai's parents engage in a heated conflict like the one they had days ago.

After the two-day fight blew over, she came to terms with it and understood the situation from a more logical viewpoint. Adjustment will take time for everyone if the discussion is successful with a request for a bridge marriage.

As we exited the room, Kai didn't spare one glimpse at the vampiresses. Instead, he shrugged them off as we headed towards the elevators. At the front doors, we met the family in the main living room as everyone and their advisors prepared to leave.

Arriving outside, while a vampire opened the door to the limousine for me and Kai's parents, I suggested to my husband, "You can head off with your family if you like."

Mostly everyone in Kai's family flew to the night sky. Since Mrs. Collin was well-developed in her pregnancy, she didn't opt for the quicker route with her speed. Any day now, she was due to have her vamp baby, so her energy has diminished lately. Considering I was a pregnant human mom-to-be, Kai refrained from zipping me there himself.

Temperatures were at freezing degrees, so I'd be at a higher risk of hypothermia or frostbite. Being mortal, I wasn't durable enough to withstand those risks, unlike the vampires and vampiresses. Vampires can adjust their body temperatures. For their Kind, the Arctic weather never fazed them, so they only wore winter coats to blend in with the humans.

"No, I'll ride with you and my parents." Kai heartily replied, and the twinkle in his eyes shone upon me like the stars.

Blushing at his loveable gaze, I turned my face away from him and slid inside the luxurious interior of the limousine.

After a thirty-seven-minute drive, we reached the Cemetery and parked at the large public castle-designed mausoleum. Yeah, there was nothing creepy about having a vampiric meeting with your enemy during the middle of the night in the heart of a cemetery, I thought as Duncan opened the limousine door for us to step out. My heart was relieved since I didn't spot the guardians from Dylan's clan who attacked Mia and me on the campus.

Outside the building, our family, Isabel's family, and the Somerset family, along with everybody's advisors, had already gathered here before us. Isabel and Grant arrived in the limousine ahead of us from our arrival. On the opposite sides of one another, the Collins and the Somersets stood far apart from each other as the hostility brewed between them. To no one's surprise, Isabel and her family stood with our enemy.

As we approached Chester and Zoey, he extended his arm and prevented Troy from attacking when he noticed Isabel holding Grant's hand. "We don't need any problems," Chester whispered to his son.

Tension heightened between the Somersets and us. Eyes maliciously narrowed not only amongst the vampires but also among the vampiresses, who eyed each other just as aggressively. I wasn't sure how a bridge marriage would be achievable, but some kind of alliance had to be honored to accomplish a foundation of unity.

Zoey touched her son's back as we walked behind them while Mr. and Mrs. Collin took the lead of our group and led us inside as everyone's advisors remained outside.

Inside, we entered a corridor that was eerily dark at this hour. As we gathered in a chapel, Mr. Collin opened a spinning stone wall with his hand, revealing a hidden chamber behind the altar. Stone seats were circled and arranged in single rows with space between six aisles around the chamber. Then, a round stone table was positioned squarely in the center.

Overall, the chamber is equally divided into three sections. Each section was precisely allocated to one of the three Covens to be exclusively used by the Royals for specific conferences among enemies. Seats at the central table were reserved for those orchestrating the arrangements. Whoever is in charge of the Coven occupies a seat at the table, so both the Somerset's Headmaster and Isabel's Headmaster sit at the table with their wives.

In the absence of our Headmaster, Mr. Collin assumed leadership of the Coven on Vlad's behalf, so he took a seat at the table with his wife. Chester and Zoey joined Troy at the table across from Dylan, his wife, Isabel, and Grant. Also, Isabel's parents and Grant's grandparents, who were Dylan's parents, occupied seats at the same table. Behind the stone table, Kai and I sat on cold seats, each carved from polished marble stones. Luckily, he spread out his jacket for me to sit more comfortably.

Once everyone was situated, the meeting commenced promptly as the rest of us, encircling around them, listened in on the dispute.

With teardrops streaming from her eyes, Isabel asked, "Why can't you simply divorce me?"

"It's not an option!" Troy hissed, "Like it or not, you are my wife!"

Across the table from Troy, Grant fiendishly snarled, "If you had any real love for Isabel, then you would divorce her!"

He cradled Isabel against the side of him as she sobbed. For extra comfort, Isabel's mother rubbed her back, attempting to soothe her.

Behind our seats, Evan quietly muttered, "I can't see how this is going to work."

Seated beside him, Henry, his elder brother, replied, "It has to work."

Nonchalantly, Chester curtly retorted, "Divorce isn't an option on our part."

"You'd risk war with us!" Isabel's father spat angrily.

"Have you no heart for my daughter!" hissed Isabel's mother.

"Siding with the Somerset doesn't reassure us from a war with you. As a vampiric democracy, we must settle an agreement on everyone's behalf. Otherwise, war upon our Covens is impreventable." Mr. Collin wisely refuted.

From the Somerset Coven, Headmaster Preston asked, "What do you suggest?"