Azura Tideborn had wanted one thing her whole life: to see something no mermaid had ever seen. Tonight, at the secret coral archway, she got her wish. She floated near the surface, her turquoise eyes fixed on the night sky. Then a star broke loose. It streaked down, burning white, and struck the water far out on the dark waves. Another followed. Then three more. Each one hissed under the surface and vanished. Azura pressed her hand to her chest and forgot to breathe. She dove. The archway glowed with sea crystals and pearls as she shot through the hidden passage. Her heart hammered. No one would believe her. She barely believed it herself. She had to find her friends. She found them near the reef. "Stars fell into the sea," Azura said. "I saw them. Dozens." Liora Coralrose crossed her arms, her gold tail catching the light. Liora always needed proof before she believed anything. "Stars don't fall, Azura," she said. But she followed. Celeste Pearl, gentle and silver-eyed, took Azura's hand at once. Thalia Moonveil said nothing. She only stared upward, and the star-flecks on her violet tail seemed to burn brighter. Elowyn Silvermist drifted close, wide-eyed. "If it's true," she whispered, "it changes everything." They gathered at the coral archway. The five of them searched the black water, spreading out beneath the surface. Nothing glowed. Nothing moved. Liora shook her head. "There's nothing here. You dreamed it." Azura's cheeks burned. She knew what she saw. But the sea stayed dark and empty, and doubt crept into her chest. Then something tugged her hair. Her little Starfish Sprite clung there, its tiny face bright with excitement. It had been listening the whole time, riding along in secret. Now it stretched one small arm and pointed hard toward the deep water below them. Azura followed its arm. Far down, past the reef, a light bloomed in the dark. It pulsed once, soft and blue. Then it grew. "There," Azura breathed. The others turned. Celeste gasped. Even Liora went still. The glow spread across the seabed like spilled moonlight, brighter every second. It was no reflection. It came from below, from whatever the stars had left behind. "You were right," Liora said quietly. She looked at Azura, and something in her hard face had opened. "That's not natural." Thalia's voice was low. "The old songs spoke of lights that fell. They never said the lights would answer." The glow throbbed once more, and the water around them warmed. The Starfish Sprite trembled against Azura's shoulder. Whatever had fallen was awake, and it was close, and now five mermaids had seen it. Azura could no longer wonder if the miracle was real. She could only follow it down. The mystery had a bottom now, and it was calling.

The blue light burned far below the reef, deeper than Azura had ever swum. She looked down into the black water and felt her courage shrink. Down there the dark could swallow her. She could lose her way and never find the surface again. But the light pulsed, warm and steady, and it was calling. Her four friends floated beside her, waiting. "We go together," Azura said. "If the dark gets too deep, we turn back." Liora crossed her arms, her gold tail flashing. She always wanted proof before she moved. "Together," she agreed, "but I lead the way out." Celeste took Azura's hand, silver eyes soft and sure. Elowyn drifted close, pale and nervous. Thalia said nothing. The star-flecks on her violet tail glowed, as if the deep already knew her. They dove. The reef fell away above them. The water grew cold and thick and black. Soon Azura could not see her own hands. Her chest tightened. Panic crept in. The light seemed no closer, and the dark pressed on every side. She had misjudged the distance. They were lost. "Azura," Elowyn whispered, "I can't see anything." Then a tiny weight tugged Azura's hair. Her little Starfish Sprite clung there, its face bright in the gloom. It stretched one small arm and pointed. Not down, toward the deep glow. It pointed sideways, toward a patch of coral near the ledge. "That's the wrong way," Liora said. But the sprite pointed harder, wriggling with excitement. Azura trusted it. "Follow the starfish," she said. They turned and swam to the coral. The sprite's glow lit the branches. There, scattered in the sand, lay small sparkling fragments. Each one shone with the same blue as the deep light. Azura gathered one in her palm. It was cool and smooth, like a shard of frozen star. "They fell here," Thalia said quietly. "Pieces of them." Azura pressed the fragment. She waited for it to speak, to open, to show her something. Nothing happened. It only glinted in her hand. The others touched them too. The fragments stayed silent. Whatever secret they held, they would not give it up yet. Still, Azura's heart lifted. They had not reached the deep glow. But they had found something real, a first clue she could hold. She gathered the fragments one by one and cupped them close. "We take these," she said. "We go up while we can." The tide shifted. Far below, the blue light pulsed brighter, as if it had felt them leave. The mermaids rose toward the reef with the fragments safe in Azura's hands. Only the sprite looked back. It clung to Azura's hair and stared down into the dark, its small body trembling. Something in the deep was calling it. And this time, the call was not for Azura.