Kingdoms Fallen and Found (Forging Kings: The Sword of Gaia)

A kingdom in exile. A forest that lures its prey with false emotions. And the one girl who sees through both.

Paelinar never wanted the crown — but after a bloody coup forces him to lead his people into the wilderness, survival becomes the only throne worth fighting for.

Their refuge turns nightmare when an earthquake tears open something ancient: a supernatural forest that spreads like a plague, luring the desperate and the grieving with the promise of everything they've lost. The harder Paelinar fights to protect his people, the deeper the Lure reaches into him — and he begins to suspect it knows his secrets better than he does. So does Maelinde. She's the last person he wants to trust, and the one he can't stop thinking about.

But the forest isn't his only enemy. His brother is coming — hungrier for revenge than for the crown — and he'll burn everything Paelinar has built to collect it.

Two monsters. One impossible choice. And no power in this world that can stop both.

Perfect for fans of Anthony Ryan's Blood Song, John Gwynne's Bloodsworn Trilogy, and Ryan Cahill's The Bound and the Broken.

Start the saga with Kingdoms Fallen and Found, Book One of six by epic fantasy author Cami Murdock Jensen.

Tropes: reluctant king · warrior brotherhood · found family · slow-burn romance · hidden powers · hard magic system · brother against brother · coming of age

Clean. No explicit content. The slow-burn romance builds across all six books. It ends on a hook, and Books 1–3 form one complete arc. ~111,000 words.