
From LiveJournal phenomenon to Penguin bestseller, "Kings Rising" completes C.S. Pacat's acclaimed Captive Prince trilogy with breathtaking character evolution. How did this LGBTQ+ romance, nominated for multiple awards, transform from underground slash fiction into the series Publishers Weekly claims "lives up to every word of praise"?
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In a fortress courtyard filled with stunned silence, Prince Damianos of Akielos reveals his true identity to a shocked audience. Akielon soldiers drop to their knees in reverence while Veretian hands instinctively move to sword hilts. For months, Damen has been enslaved in the enemy kingdom of Vere, serving the cold, calculating Prince Laurent-the brother of the man Damen killed in battle six years earlier. Now, as his childhood friend Nikandros presents him with the golden lion pin of his birthright, the ornate slave cuff still encircles Damen's wrist-a physical reminder of his humiliation and the seemingly unbridgeable gap between these two princes. How can they possibly forge an alliance when their very existence represents everything the other despises? The political landscape surrounding them is treacherous. Damen's half-brother Kastor has usurped the Akielon throne through bloody coup, while Laurent's uncle, the Regent of Vere, orchestrates elaborate schemes to prevent Laurent from claiming his rightful crown. Both princes find themselves fighting against their own countrymen, forcing them to question everything they once believed about loyalty and trust.
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