The Reign of Queens_A Kingdom of Diamond Antlers Novel by Zachary James

Author:Zachary James [James, Zachary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zachary James Novels
Published: 2018-07-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

~Ariadae~

Kane is Jax’s brother, but it doesn’t stop the unease churning within the pit of my stomach. I have been betrayed too many times by the people close to me that I’ve become unaccepting of the intentions of strangers. I went through too much to be innocently assuming everyone is kind and helpful. Nobody cares about a stranger’s needs unless it benefits their own.

Although Jax and Kane appear very different from one another, I notice the similarities. They both walk with a warrior’s gait and both of them are…beautiful, yet I find my eyes catching on Kane’s wavy dirty blond locks and tanned skin. They both have angular jaws and high cheekbones, but Kane has a slimmer nose and sleek brow bone that makes a blush heat within my body despite the bitter cold. After the blizzard, the snow has become deeper, if it’s even possible, and much thicker. The flakes brush along my sagging arms and waltzing crystals still fall from the clear blue sky above.

His armor is white plaited leather and is sleeveless, exposing sun kissed skin and ink black tattoos. The gauntlets, chest plate, and boots of his outfit are lined with wolf’s fur and a longbow is strung across his shoulder blades. A long sword is sheathed straight down his spine. With his large amount of weaponry and bulging muscles, even bigger than Jax’s, I may not trust him, but they make me feel more than safe. I don’t scan the surrounding trees as we ascend Archaic Mountain.

“What are your tattoos?” I ask and nod my head towards his visible biceps.

He grins with a white toothed smile and looks down at his arm. “This one,” he points to the obsidian paint depicting an image of a howling wolf and dark swirls spiral from the animal’s mouth and fade into his shoulder beneath fabric. “Is part of The Proving.”

“What’s The Proving?”

“It’s a series of arena-style battles that prove that the heir’s abilities are strong enough to rule our kingdom.” His words dance with the falling snowflakes and I let it linger there, not wanting to seem too eager with my questions. I have never known anything about the Winter Kingdom culture because Jax doesn’t talk to me about his home.

“I know Jax gave up his title as Heir, but did he participate in the Proving?”

Kane looks back at me, his sea-green eyes filled with a gloom and his previous pretty smile is gone. “He didn’t give up his title. What made you believe such a lie?”

What? Jax told me he handed his title to his brother and became a warrior. After establishing his life in the Winter Kingdom as a warrior he ran through Elkwood Forest, down the mountain, only as a tiger pup, where my father stumbled upon him and brought him to me.

“He competed in the first three of the ten tests in The Proving,” Kane adds and I grow more curious as to what he is saying. Although this is very intriguing, it makes me wonder what else did Jax has lied about.

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