Page 74 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“Hi,” Saylor said, startling a bit when Demon Barbie began circling her.

“I know. And I have to say, she’s exactly what I hoped she’d be,” Destiny said before pausing to tug hard on Saylor’s hair.

“Ouch,” Saylor gasped, and I moved forward to stand between them.

“What the fuck was that?” I hissed.

“Oh, look at you. She brought some man candy. Can I call you Daddy, big boy?” the little tyrant asked. I was in some sort of twilight zone because Donald Woodson just smiled like this was perfectly normal behavior.

“Absolutely not. And if you touch her head again, I will have no problem doing the same to you.”

Destiny made this odd growling noise and then ran her long, sharp nails along my chest like a motherfucking cat in heat.

“Easy, boy. I was just seeing if she had extensions in her hair. I’m impressed that’s all yours, sis.”

Saylor looked completely shell-shocked as she stared at Destiny with confusion. “Yeah. This is my hair. So, let’s not pull it again, okay?”

“Oh, she’s not the passive wallflower you described, Donald.” She shot a look at her father, and normally I’d be wondering why she’d called him by his first name, but this girl was definitely beating to her own drum, so it wasn’t too surprising at this point.

“I asked you to call me Dad when we have company.” Donald shook his head and smiled like his evil spawn didn’t just assault everyone in the room. “Come and have lunch. Constance has a nice meal planned for us.”

I took Saylor’s hand in mine as we followed them through the house, passing what looked like a grand library and a formal living room before stopping at a dining room that was fit for the royal family.

The tuxedo dude was standing there, and Donald asked him to let Constance and Phoenix know that lunch was being served.

The table was set with what I assumed were expensive plates and cutlery, accompanied by crystal glasses. I was hoping for a burger or some chicken fingers, but I had a hunch that lunch was going to be something very different.

“You’re sitting there.” Destiny pointed to a chair and motioned for Saylor to take her seat. And when I moved to the chair beside her, Destiny fisted my tee in her freakishly sharp fingernails. “No, Daddy.You’re on the other side of me. I’m sitting between you two.”

She turned around to pull out her chair, and Saylor’s eyes widened as she looked at me, and I mouthed the wordBeefcakefor a second time since we’d arrived.

I wanted to get the fuck out of here, and I was grateful that she hadn’t come here alone, because this was proving to be the palace from hell.

“Hello, you must be Saylor.” A woman who looked like an older version of the terrifying teen beside me approached the table.

“Hi. Yes, I’m Saylor, and this is my friend, King.”

“I’m Constance. Thank you for coming. This was very important to my Destiny.” She took her seat across from Saylor just as Puff the Magic Dragon came skateboarding into the dining room with a cloud of reefer surrounding him.

I leaned forward and met eyes with Saylor, and she gave me that look I knew all too well.

What the fuck is happening?

She wanted to stay, so I was going to try to enjoy myself. Our glasses were filled with water, and they’d offered wine and champagne, which both Saylor and I declined, because, well, it was noon, and we were definitely getting the hell out of here as soon as possible.

The first course was served by not one, not two, but three women in full black-and-white uniforms. They set down a plate with some weird-ass orange goopy-looking eggs on top of a piece of salmon.

“Enjoy your salmon and caviar,” one of the women said, and I used my finger to flick the orange shit off the salmon.

Destiny raised a brow and smirked. “So, are you dating my sister?”

“Yes. We’re very serious. Marriage is definitely in our future.”

Saylor put a hand over her mouth and turned her attention to Constance, who was snapping her fingers to get us all to look her way.

Apparently, snapping was the way they communicated in this hellish place.

“You are your mother’s daughter, aren’t you? You don’t resemble your father at all,” Constance said, and the way she spoke to Saylor rubbed me wrong. Hell, who was I kidding? This whole experience rubbed me wrong.

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