This Splintered Sea: A Sapphic Romantasy (Ends of the Earth Book 1)

Once a fearsome pirate queen whose name haunted every sea shanty, Briar has been reduced to a shadow of her former self. After killing her betrothed to escape a gilded cage, she was cursed to exist on land, where even a single drop of seawater means certain death. Now living as a disgraced princess turned undercover spy, Briar spends her days as a king’s courtesan and her nights hunting for a way to break the magic tethering her to the dry earth. When the King announces a brutal competition promising the winner a single wish, Briar sees her only path to redemption. She assumes a stolen identity and enters the deadly trials, determined to reclaim the ocean as her home. However, she has an unexpected obstacle: Kressa, a ruthless bounty hunter who is tasked with tracking down the very pirate alias Briar has adopted. To complicate matters, Kressa is also the woman Briar is meant to betray as a spy—and the only person whose touch has begun to reignite the dormant, forbidden magic in her blood. With the Gales’ trials pushing them to their breaking points, Briar must navigate a treacherous web of espionage and desire. In a high-stakes race where identities are fluid and secrets are deadly, she will have to decide if her freedom is worth the cost of the heart she wasn't supposed to lose.