Lisa Coley 
The Serpent’s Secret [EPUB ebook] 
A Race Against the Sands

Ancient Egypt, 1482 BCE.  The Nile, lifeblood of the kingdom, withers under a relentless sun.  Whispers of famine and unrest ripple through the land, echoing the ominous prophecy Mira, a scribe with eyes like lapis lazuli, discovers hidden within the royal archives.  It speaks not of glittering gold, but of a lost sanctuary holding the key to the Nile’s fate – a secret powerful enough to save Egypt or drown it beneath a cataclysmic flood.
Bound by duty and driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Mira embarks on a perilous quest, her path entangled with Bek, a cunning thief whose cynical gaze hides a past betrayal.  Their unlikely alliance – her knowledge of ancient hieroglyphs, his mastery of Thebes’s shadowy underbelly – becomes their only weapon against the relentless Nefertari, a high priestess whose ambition burns brighter than the desert sun.  Nefertari believes the relic is her birthright, a tool to seize control of the Nile and bend the young pharaoh to her will.
Their pursuit leads them through the vibrant tapestry of Thebes – bustling marketplaces rife with whispers, tranquil temple gardens concealing deadly conspiracies, and finally, into the desolate Valley of the Kings, where ancient magic clings to the air and the tombs of pharaohs whisper secrets of forgotten power.  Here, in the heart of a crumbling tomb, they uncover a truth far more profound than they could have imagined. The relic is not an instrument of control, but a delicate key to harmony, a forgotten ritual demanding responsibility, not dominion.
As the sands shift beneath their feet and Nefertari’s web of intrigue tightens, Mira and Bek must confront not only the dangers of the tomb but also the shadows within themselves.  Bek grapples with the ghosts of his past, while Mira faces a choice: embrace the seductive allure of power or choose the path of understanding, a path that demands sacrifice and trust.  In the echoing silence of the pharaoh’s chamber, their destinies intertwine with the fate of Egypt, their decisions echoing through the ages.  For within the Serpent’s Secret lies not just the key to the Nile’s survival, but a truth that will forever change the course of their lives.