Arrogant • Sadistic • Manipulative

Khalil, Queen of the Jungle. Former Princess of the Northern Desert (exiled).

To say Khalil has a checkered past would be an understatement. To  say more would mean that you need to believe half the rumors, a quarter  of the gossip, and a dash of what she tells you herself. What is known  to be absolutely true about her origins is that she and her brother  Khalfani were twins born to the royal pride in the Northern Desert. The  contrast between the twins was evident almost from birth. Where Khalfani  took every opportunity to make peace and help, Khalil reveled in drama  and violence. Khalil played the perfect angel when in her parents'  presence, but a very different beast she was when not. Her true nature  (or otherwise her whole nature) wasn't revealed to them until the  King and Queen started to train the twins to rule side by side when it  was their turn to assume the throne. Khalil waited a whole hour before  she exploded into a rant about how she should rule and not her brother.  Her parents were appalled and exasperated with her behavior, especially  when it continued beyond her initial outburst. Eventually, Khalil tried  to change tactics and play that she was more fit to rule than Khalfani -  taking every opportunity to set him up for failure. The only failure  that happened was to Khalil.

Finally,  Khalil tried something else - something that would cause her to be  exiled from her home and remove her chance of being queen forever.  Rejected by her family and homeless, Khalil wandered the desert  aimlessly, hoping that somehow the stars would guide her. She eventually  came into the company of a young lion out on a rite of passage - one  that if he successfully completed, he would assume the throne of a pride  that lived not too far from where Khalil met him. Khalil already  suspected who he was and where he came from, and agreed to help him  complete this rite. He welcomes her help and is charmed by her sweet,  caring facade. The rite is completed and Khalil's suspicions are  confirmed when the lion prince leads her to his home in the jungle that  lies just beyond the reaches of the desert. This pride is affectionately  known to Khalil by her family as the "Jungle Lions" - a strange lot who  don't hunt in the open and instead live in the shadows of tall trees  and thick undergrowth. Khalil's family and the Jungle Lions' pride split  generations before during a feud or a war (no one remembers exactly  why) and they never reconciled, save for one small piece of territory -  an oasis - that existed between their lands. And the bad blood exists  between the prides even now.

Khalil  marries the jungle prince, Radhi, with two purposes in mind. One, to  adequately spite her family. Two, because it means she can be royal  again - with power and a legacy. And perhaps... just perhaps... that  power she claims now might increase. Because another thing that can be  assured with Khalil... is that she loves power and never makes the same  mistake twice. 

War of Lions

Summary coming soon...

Betrothed

Summary coming soon...