Chapter 845: We want your vote Ever since his talk with Dwight, Quinn had been wondering which of the two groups would approach him first. He had even started to worry a bit since the day of the King’s burial was closing in, but neither one had contacted him yet. Without any new information he had also naturally abstained from visiting the Vampire knight. ’Honestly I’m surprised Bryce hasn’t made a move yet?’ Quinn wondered. ’It’s unlikely he will try to pull something. Bryce is a lot of things, but he’s also a man known for following the rules. In that regard the other leaders actually respect him. Unfortunately, that also makes him a viable candidate. A leader who follows the rules is also something the current leaders will want to see on the throne. If there was any evidence that he had something to do with some sort of actions that were outside of the scope of the rules, it would ruin his chances significantly.’ Vincent explained. Still, Quinn’s uneasy feeling didn’t get better from this. The tension remained that everything was going to pop off once a new King was elected. Finally, after walking under disguise through the city, Quinn reached the inner area of the second castle. It would have been faster to travel using his shadow, but right now, Quinn was being more cautious than ever. He had a flask full of blood on him, and he didn’t want to use any of his shadow MC points. When Quinn lifted his hood, the guard wasn’t surprised. In fact, he looked to have already expected him. He bowed down and then started to lead the way into the castle. Looking around the place, it was certainly livelier than his. He could see the smiles on people’s faces and there were even young children having fun. It was one of the few times Quinn had even seen children in the Vampire settlement. During their walk, he also checked for any form of defence like he had. Unsurprisingly there were no towers or any other form of defensive structures, not counting the walls. Then again, the vampires who lived in the inner area were meant to be some of the strongest members of their family. Despite the leader’s differences, it also wasn’t like attacks on each other were commonplace. However, Quinn wasn’t just wary of the other vampires. He knew a certain powerful individual like no other was coming for them, the only question was, when exactly he would show up. Entering the castle, Quinn noticed that the layout was nearly identical to his own, the entrance also led to a grand reception room, and the size of the rooms themselves was the same. The main differences were all the decorations inside, and the fact that these rooms had a clear, distinct feeling that they were lived in. ’I really need to get someone to clean our place up a bit. Now that I see one in action, our castle smells like dirty moth balls in comparison, and we still have too many unoccupied rooms with dust and armaments and photos that must have piled up for decades!’ .’ Eventually, the guard led Quinn up the stairs until they reached the top floor. They stopped in front of a pair of double doors and the one escorting him on them a couple of times. "The tenth family’s leader, Quinn Talen, is present!" After being announced, two vampires from the inside opened the doors wide.. Cindy Cha, leader of the second family and the one who had invited Quinn was on the other side, a cup of tea in hand, a smile on her lips. She was wearing a large black dress, in a Victorian style that wouldn’t look to be out of place at a ball. "You certainly look different from the last time I saw you." She greeted Quinn. "I’m looking forward to talking with you face to face. Last time there was unfortunately no opportunity for that." Looking behind the one who had most likely organised this entire evening, Quinn recognised many familiar faces. There Jin Talon, the fourth family leader with whom he had a brief scuffle in the underground tunnels. Although the other was unable to use the full strength of his ability, explosive blood was certainly dangerous. Then there was one with a very familiar face, which wasn’t a coincidence since he was the father of one of his best friends, Lee Sanguines. There was also the large vampire who was always covered head to toe in a thick black armour, Muka Fortuna, the ninth family leader, in charge of the underground tunnels and prisoners. The other two Quinn had not met personally. He only knew them by name. The one furthest to the left was Sunny Kent, leader of the fifth family and next to her, was David Scutter, leader of the twelfth. ’As expected, it seems like these types of things don’t change even now. The group is equally split.’ Vincent lamented. Quinn immediately understood what he meant by this. There were thirteen families in total, so all those who had been invited must be on Cindy’s side, in other words, she had secured six votes for herself. Unless there was someone who planned to abstain, the other side would have six as well leaving, meaning Quinn’s vote would be the tiebreaker. ’Are the alliances the same as back then?’ Quinn wondered. ’Not quite. Very similar, but still with a few changes.’ Vincent replied. "It’s a pleasure to meet you all again." Quinn replied, as he bowed down following etiquette, before going over to the open seat they were directing him to. Quinn felt a bit odd at first, he could tell that they were not only staring at him but were also analysing him. He could guess that the reason for that was that his smell must have changed from last time. ’How did the boy manage to become a bonafide Vampire lord, when he had just evolved into a Vampire noble the last time he came here?’ Jin wondered. ’Just how fast is he progressing? No, I should worry more about how much stronger he will become if this trend continues. We must get him on our side, or things will look dire in the future.’ "Now that everyone is here, allow me to cut to the chase. You don’t mind, do you, Quinn?" Cindy asked with a smile. "The reason that you’ve been called back is that the current King is soon to go into his eternal sleep. After that happens there will be a week of mourning. During that time every leader must either choose to present their case why they wish to become the next King or forfeit their right to candidacy. On the eighth day, the council will come to a vote to decide on the next King, as well as their Royal Vampire Knights." "Usually it would be two, but Dwight has chosen not to accompany his Majesty on his last journey, so this time only one replacement will be elected.." According to Vincent this was quite unusual, as the Royal knights tended to be very loyal to the King. Although Quinn hadn’t known Dwight for too long, it had been easy enough to see how loyal he was to the King. As such, the reason for him remaining was quite clear to everyone. "I won’t sugarcoat why we’ve brought you here. At the moment, all of us gathered here have decided that they will vote for me as the next Queen. We are content with how things are run and I don’t really plan to change things around after getting my new position." "I’m sure your maths isn’t bad, so your vote would indeed be the one to secure my victory. The other mandate most likely to be in charge is Bryce. You don’t need me to tell you that he already has several grudges against you, and he has a dislike for humans as it is. Of course, I am different, and the leaders here can all attribute to that." "I have treated those from the tenth family when they got injured. I even helped your two allies who Kazz brought in, and I intend to continue treating the tenth family fairly. All I’m asking is for your vote when the time comes." Quinn remained silent. It all sounded great, but honestly he didn’t know Cindy too well. At least anyone should be better than Bryce was his opinion at the moment. However, her actions just came off as a little too arrogant, as if she was already expecting Quinn to agree. Everything was falling into place for her and it was making him feel uneasy. Then there was also the warning from Peter. His friend was unusually sharp in his judgement of others who might hurt Quinn. "Should a new King or Queen really be selected at this time?" Quinn questioned. "I mean, there still has been no news about who attacked my tenth family. However, from what we’ve discovered, there is only one logical conclusion. One of the other families must have been involved in this attack. I don’t know you all too well, yet I know for a fact that I at least annoyed some of those at this table." ’Go on Quinn.’ Vincent cheered him on a little further. ’Push them some more! We will never find out the truth without giving them some hardball questions!’ A little nervous to say this before, with the push Quinn wanted to say what was on his mind. "For example, we did find out that the attack was done by a Bloodsucker by the name of Rowa? Wasn’t he originally from the second family? And now, out of nowhere, I get an invitation to come here, to crown you as the new Queen? That seems awfully suspicious." Although his speech started off nice he started to think of all those in the tenth that had been attacked while he was away, and the words he spoke were true. Rowa was from the second family and he was the one who killed the others, including Edward. *****