The Saltwater Between Stars

When human xenolinguist Caelan Kirks crashes into the forbidden abyss of an ocean world, he expects to die in the dark. Instead, he's rescued by Thal'rys-a feared abyss-born warrior bound to the planet's deepest trenches. The bond between them should not exist. As ancient leviathans begin dying and humanity pushes the ocean toward collapse, Caelan and Thal'rys uncover the truth behind the First Tide-a forgotten alliance between humans and the abyss-born that once helped keep the planet alive.
But the deeper their connection grows, the more Caelan changes. And the more impossible it becomes to return to the surface unchanged. Caught between two worlds terrified of each other, Caelan and Thal'rys must decide whether their impossible bond can help heal a dying ocean-or whether the divide between their people has grown too deep to survive. The Saltwater Between Stars is a slow-burn M/M sci-fi romance featuring alien intimacy, forbidden connection, ancient ocean civilizations, leviathans, touch-starved devotion, and a deeply possessive abyss-born warrior who would tear the world apart before letting his human go.