Panic gripped Moonhaven as shades poured from the lagoon, their shadowy forms tearing through coral huts. Sophie’s notebook glowed in her hands, its new story burning in her mind: a tide to break the curse, but at a cost. She shoved it into her hoodie, heart racing. The cloaked woman’s laugh still echoed, and Sophie’s mark throbbed.

“Sophie, now!” Marin yelled, her staff summoning a wave to push back the shades. Kael dove into the water, his mer-form slicing through enemies. Lumi’s glow flared, guiding tidewatchers to safety.

Sophie froze. She wasn’t a fighter. But her stories always had heroes who faced fear. She traced her mark, summoning a silver tide that slammed into a shade, dissolving it. The effort left her dizzy, but Kael’s cheer gave her strength.

“Nice one, storyteller!” he called, leaping onto the shore.

Elara rallied the tidewatchers, but the shades were endless. Sophie’s eyes caught a figure in the shadows—someone familiar, slipping away. Was it a tidewatcher? Her stomach twisted. The cloaked woman’s words—You can’t hide—felt too close.

“Sophie, the lagoon!” Lumi chimed, zipping to her side. “The curse is strongest there!”

Sophie ran to the water’s edge, her mark burning. She opened her notebook, and the new story glowed: The Tidecaller’s sacrifice wakes the moon’s heart, breaking the curse. Sacrifice what? Her life? Her mark? She didn’t know, but she had to try.

She focused on her mark, picturing her stories’ heroes. A massive tide rose, silver and radiant, crashing through the shades. Moonhaven’s orbs flared brighter, and the shades screamed, dissolving. Sophie’s knees buckled, but Marin caught her.

“You did it,” Marin said, her voice soft for once.

But the victory was short. The lagoon bubbled, and a monstrous shade emerged—a serpent of shadow and ink, its eyes like the cloaked woman’s. Elara gasped. “The curse’s guardian. Only a true Tidecaller can face it.”

Sophie’s heart sank. She’d barely survived the shades. But her notebook glowed hotter, and Lumi’s voice rang clear: “Your stories, Sophie. They’re the key.”

She opened the notebook, and a new page appeared, showing her own drawing—a moonlit wave with a figure inside. Was it her? The serpent lunged, and Sophie’s mark blazed. She wove a tide, but the serpent’s tail struck, sending her crashing into the water.

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Kael dove after her, pulling her to the surface. “You okay, storyteller?”

Sophie coughed, clutching the notebook. The serpent roared, and Marin’s wave faltered. Sophie’s eyes caught the shadowy figure again—definitely a tidewatcher, slipping into a hut. Betrayal? She couldn’t think—her mark burned, and the notebook’s new page pulsed. The figure in the wave wasn’t her—it was someone she knew. But who, and how could they stop the serpent before it destroyed Moonhaven?

Cliffhanger: Who is the figure in Sophie’s story, and can she defeat the serpent—or is a traitor about to strike?

Chapter 3: Waves of Courage

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