Page 136 of Unmasked

“No.”

“Pack.”

“I said no.”

‘Then you leave me no choice.”

The line went dead, and Penelope’s worried stare went between me and Mr. Prescott.

“Alright, what the hell is really going on?” I pointed at the phone. “You didn’t have her make that call for nothing. Did you hear him?”

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.

“I heard him. I see The Sultan wasn’t exaggerating.” He glanced at Penelope, shaking his head as he lowered his stare back to the phone.

“I’m here because this evening King Lawrence made some very concerning threats. Ones The Sultan deemed legitimate enough to bring forward to the rest of us. That alone speaks volumes.”

“What did King Lawrence threaten?” Penelope tried to appear curious, but all I heard in her voice was a calm panic.

Mr. Prescott went between us, looking first at her but settling on me.

The words left me with a knowing that was ingrained. “He’s going to try to have me killed.”

“Yes. He’s said as much.”

“Not going to happen.” Penelope’s head shook. “What is being done about it?”

A frown came to Mr. Prescott’s face. “Nothing. He’s angry. That doesn’t mean he’ll go through with it.”

“So what about the ball?” Penelope grabbed Mr. Prescott’s phone again as she waited for his answer. “You can’t be serious about still having Vaughn attend.”

“The king is mad⁠—”

“He’s fucking crazy. Hello, are we all forgetting how I was poisoned? How he…did things to me when I was half unconscious? How about how I lost my child? Are we really going to risk Vaughn’s life? A threat is a threat until someone is dead, Mr. Prescott. That will not be Vaughn.”

Penelope looked down, dialing.

“Who are you calling.”

Blue eyes shot to mine.

“King Lawrence.”

“For what?”

“For deescalation, of course. I’m going to the palace to see him.”

“No you’re fucking not.” I snatched the phone from her. “If you call him, it will make this worse.”

“If I leave things how they are, that’ll make it worse. I can at least buy us a few days.”

“Penelope, going to him is the stupidest⁠—”

“Not necessarily,” Mr. Prescott said, holding up his hand. He turned his attention to Penelope. “The Council will not excuse Vaughn because of threats, and it’s mandatory he attends. What is your plan?”

Her stare jumped to mine, and my head wouldn’t stop shaking.

“I go to him and treat him as a dear friend I can’t bear to lose.”