We’d spent two hours today going through all her notes on each leader, flagging the alphas and royals she held the biggest contentions with as ones for us to pursue for potential recruitment.
Now we all glanced around, agreeing without a vote on Jace’s clear leadership role. While I wouldn’t admit it out loud, I could quietly say, He was born for this.
Because he was.
He possessed an even-keeled approach, and his penchant for playing the political game was evident in how he’d handled himself the last century and a half. He was also genuinely well liked, even by those who were among Lilith’s strongest allies.
“All right, leader,” I said to him. “What do we do now?”
“We find that lab,” he replied, referring to the one Lilith had clearly been running experiments out of. “And we find Cam.”
“Does he come equipped with a wizard gown and a wand?” Kylan asked. “Because we’ll need that for the next council meeting.”
I smirked, amused. Because he had a point. All Jace kept harping on was finding Cam, as though he would magically appear with all the answers. And while I wanted to find him—especially after learning what Lilith had done to him—I didn’t see how that would solve any of our problems.
“I was under her telepathic thrall for less than thirty minutes,” I said. “It gave me a taste of what Cam’s been going through. Trust me when I say he’s not going to be of sound mind when you locate him.”
It had taken me hours to get rid of that odd sensation in my head. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for someone suffering from that intrusion for over a century.
Jace nodded, confirming he’d heard both comments. “We have two options. We can either preemptively inform the world of Lilith’s demise or we can wait until the council meeting. There are merits to both options. The former allows the others to come to grips with the reality before we see them. The latter gives us the element of surprise.”
“Why are we even discussing attending?” I asked, slightly miffed by the very notion of giving in to Lilith’s political bullshit for one more minute of my life. “Do we consider ourselves part of her council? Or is this our council?”
Jace’s icy blue eyes met mine, a challenge in his depths. “Do you feel we have enough allies in this room to take them down and provoke change?”
“I think we have enough allies in this room to make them consider a discussion regarding change,” I countered.
“It’s a fair consideration,” Ivan informed us. He sat beside Darius. We’d met briefly at the beginning of all this. Jace had introduced him as a political advisor of sorts. Apparently, he had a foreign policy background in the old world.
“Go on,” Kylan said, clearly unconvinced. “Tell me how six leaders will fare against twenty-eight.”
“That’s twenty percent of their council. But more importantly, we have three of the oldest vampires on our side. And there’s power in age, as I believe you’re quite familiar with,” Ivan returned.
Damien gave me a look from across the table, one that said, I like him.
I tilted my chin in agreement. The vampire had courage. I valued courage.
“On the lycan side, we’re less top-heavy,” Luka said. “Logan and Edon are new alphas. Jolene has been out of the game for several centuries. And my word may sway some, but not all of them.” He steepled his long fingers together on the mahogany wood, leaning forward.
“However,” he continued, “Lilith’s telepathic technology indicates she used lycans to create it, something I doubt my brethren will approve of. If we can find further proof of that, you’ll win over the lycan vote.”
“Which brings us back to finding the lab,” Jace said. “And Cam.”
Silence fell, everyone considering the next play.
“Can we keep her death a secret until the next council meeting?” Darius finally asked. “Is that even feasible?”
“We have her phone,” Damien replied. “We can continue to communicate on her behalf. I can also build something to resemble her voice, should someone call.”
“A Lilith AI,” I said, shuddering.
Damien’s lips twitched. “Is that the upgrade you had in mind?”
“Do you want me to burn the building down?” I asked him.
“You two should date,” Kylan interjected.
“He’s not my type,” Damien said. “His pet, however…”
I growled at him. “Careful.”
“Can we postpone the council meeting?” Edon asked suddenly. “To give us more time to find the lab? You have her phone. Couldn’t you just send out a blast saying