Sophie’s lips still tingled from Kael’s kiss, but the traitor’s shadow and the sorceress’s laugh yanked her back to reality. Her notebook’s new page—a wave crashing over a traitor’s mask—burned in her mind. Moonhaven’s glowing lagoon felt less safe now, and her mark pulsed with warning.

Kael stood, offering his hand. “We need to tell Marin and Elara. A traitor’s bad news.”

Sophie nodded, clutching her notebook. They found Marin at the Moonspire, her face lined with worry. Elara listened as Sophie explained the tidewatcher’s suspicious movements and the notebook’s clues.

“A traitor among us?” Elara’s voice was grim. “The Moonlit Curse feeds on division. We must find them.”

Marin gripped her staff. “There’s a place—the Coral Vault. It holds records of Thalindra’s tides. If the sorceress is guiding a traitor, we’ll find proof there.”

Kael raised a brow. “The vault’s deep in the sea. Dangerous, even for me.”

Sophie’s stomach twisted. She wasn’t a diver, and her tides were still shaky. But her stories taught her that heroes faced fear. “I’ll go,” she said, surprising herself.

Lumi glowed brighter. “Your mark will guide you, Sophie. The vault may reveal your notebook’s power.”

They prepared to dive, Marin enchanting their clothes to breathe underwater. Kael’s mer-form shimmered, his tail flicking playfully. “Stick with me, storyteller,” he winked, easing Sophie’s nerves.

The sea was a glowing wonder—coral forests, fish like living jewels, and currents that sang. Sophie’s mark let her move easily, her notebook glowing faintly in a waterproof satchel. Lumi led the way, its light cutting through the depths.

The Coral Vault was a massive dome of pearl and coral, its doors carved with moon phases. Inside, shelves held glowing orbs—tide records. Sophie’s mark burned as she touched one, and a vision hit her: a tidewatcher swearing loyalty to a cloaked figure—the sorceress. The traitor’s face was hidden, but their armor matched Moonhaven’s.

“We’re close,” Sophie whispered, her voice muffled underwater.

Marin scanned the orbs. “These records go back centuries. The curse began when a Tidecaller betrayed Thalindra. The sorceress is using that history.”

Kael’s tail flicked nervously. “So, the traitor’s following an old playbook? Creepy.”

They searched, but a low hum grew louder. The vault shook, and shadows swirled outside—shades, led by a humanoid figure in tidewatcher armor. The traitor.

“Get down!” Marin shouted, summoning a wave to seal the doors. Sophie’s mark flared, and she wove a tide, reinforcing the barrier. Kael fought off shades that slipped through, his trident flashing.

The traitor’s voice echoed, cold and familiar. “You can’t stop the curse, Tidecaller. The seas will kneel.”

Sophie’s notebook glowed, revealing another page: a tide swallowing a masked figure, but the mask cracked, showing a face she knew. Her heart stopped—it was someone from Moonhaven, someone close. The vault’s doors buckled, and the traitor stepped inside, their staff raised.

Cliffhanger: Who is the traitor Sophie recognizes, and can they escape the collapsing vault?

Chapter 5: The Coral Vault

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