The Sea Serpent's Kiss

1722. The world is an ocean of secrets, and Reya Tremaine is drowning in them.  Fleeing a forced marriage and the shadow of treason hanging over her family, she seeks refuge aboard *The Sea Serpent*, a brigantine as dark as her past.  Disguised as “Ray,” the stowaway, she trades silks for roughspun, jewels for a stolen cutlass, and the gilded cage of her former life for the exhilarating freedom of the open sea.
But freedom comes at a price. Captain Benjamin “Bloody” Stirling, a man whose laughter echoes with the clang of steel, rules his ship with an iron fist.  His first mate, Liam O’Connell, is a tempest of contradictions — lethal grace and brooding loyalty, a past shrouded in darkness that mirrors Reya's own.  He carries a burning hatred for the Tremaine name, a hatred that clashes with the undeniable spark ignited between him and the quick-witted stowaway who dares to meet his gaze.
Their quest: the legendary Sunstone Treasure, whispered in taverns and sung in sea shanties, hidden on the mist-shrouded island of Aethelgard.  But Aethelgard is more than just a treasure island.  It’s a labyrinth guarded by creatures of myth and shadow, a place where the line between reality and nightmare blurs.
As *The Sea Serpent* navigates treacherous waters, Reya’s hidden talent for navigation emerges, earning her Stirling’s respect and further complicating her charade.  Her stolen moments with Liam become a dangerous dance, each kiss a taste of salt and secrets under a watchful moon.  But the past refuses to stay buried.  Political machinations reach across the vast ocean, and the ruthless Captain Valeria Dubois, with her crimson sails and burning ambition, enters the fray, craving the Sunstone and Stirling’s downfall.
Liam's vengeance against the Tremaines intensifies, unknowingly aimed at the woman he's falling for. Reya's secret becomes a ticking time bomb, threatening to shatter the fragile love blooming amidst the chaos.  The closer they get to the Sunstone, the more tangled their destinies become.  Aethelgard awaits, promising untold riches and unimaginable peril.  But the greatest danger lies not in the mythical creatures or rival pirates, but in the secrets they keep and the lies that bind them.  One wrong move could cost them everything, especially the love they never expected to find on the high seas.  Will they uncover the treasure and each other, or will their secrets drown them both?