A new vampire faction emerged—the Traditionalists, who believed the entity's defeat proved vampires should rule openly rather than maintain the Accord.
"We're the apex predators," their leader, Lady Viktoria, argued at a Congress meeting. "We saved everyone from the entity. Shouldn't we be rewarded with leadership?"
"The entity was defeated through cooperation," Adrian countered. "Every species contributed. No one species gets to claim dominance."
"You're biased because your mate is old-fashioned. The Accord was established when vampires were weaker. Now we're stronger than ever."
"Strength doesn't equal right to rule. That's the mentality that created the old vampire lords, that led to the entity's threat in the first place."
The debate raged for hours. Some vampires agreed with Viktoria, believing their sacrifice earned them dominance. Others supported Adrian's view of continued cooperation.
Eventually, a vote was called. The coalition upheld the Accord by a narrow margin—cooperation over domination won, but barely.
"That was close," Wei said afterward. "Too close."
"Viktoria's tapping into real frustration," Adrian admitted. "Vampires did sacrifice enormously. We need to address their concerns without abandoning coalition principles."
"How?"
"I'm still figuring that out."