Chapter 8

8 Sofia looked from one shell to the other, thinking hard. They all looked pretty much the same. How could she possibly choose? Then she had an idea. The clamshell with the Fire Sparks inside would surely be very warm. If she touched the shells, she could narrow her choice down to only two!

She reached out a paw toward the clamshells, but the Fire Queen swooped in to block her. "No cheating, Sea Dragon!" she hissed. Another wave of confusion washed over Sofia. What was she looking for again? For some reason, Sofia found herself drawn to the clamshell in the middle. Was something in there? She shook her head, trying to clear the fog from it. JellyJo swam up close. "Remember, you're looking for the missing narwhal. She is inside one of these shells." That's right! thought Sofia, I'm looking for the missing Sea Keeper. For the millionth time she was grateful that JellyJo was there to help. But still, she really wished she could talk to Grace and Zoe. Once again, Sofia found herself looking at the middle shell. Was this the one with the missing narwhal inside? If only there were a way to tell! The Fire Queen swirled around above her. "Hurry up, Sea Dragon! I haven't got all day.

Choose a clamshell or I will choose one for you!" she demanded. The Fire Queen seemed to be getting brighter and hotter, making the water uncomfortably warm. "Just tune her out," JellyJo urged. Yes! Sofia needed to treat the Fire Queen like the crowd at a diving competition. She would block out the queen and concentrate on her own breathing. Sofia took deep breaths as she looked from one shell to another. It really was an impossible decision. She was just going to have to pick one!

"I choose—" she started to say. But she was interrupted by a huge racket. There were lots of clinking noises, like someone rifling through a cutlery drawer. There were also cries of "Ouch!" and "Oops, sorry!" and "Hang on, I'm stuck…" Sofia whirled around to see a most remarkable sight. Diving down toward them was a cluster of

narwhals, Prince Toothy leading the way. And on either side of him were Zoe and Grace! The Fire Queen shot up high in the water, heat and light streaming from her. "What are you all doing here?" she muttered angrily. "Ah, but you have no idea, do you?" She grinned. As the queen said that, Sofia felt the familiar waves of confusion heading her way. But now that her friends were here, it was different. The muddled feeling washed over her and then simply floated away. Sofia called to Zoe and Grace. "The narwhal is inside one of those giant clamshells," she explained. "I can only choose one. For some reason I think it's the middle one. What do you think?" "We trust you, Sofia," Grace said simply. Zoe nodded. "Totally," she agreed. "You've got to follow your instincts." The pod of narwhals crowded around. "We think you should trust your gut, too," Toothy said.

Sofia felt a warm glow inside. It was so good to know that she was supported like this. She turned to face the Fire Queen. "I choose the middle shell," she said firmly. The Fire Queen swished down until she was hovering over the three shells. A curious light burned in her eyes. Sofia did not like the look of it one bit! "You are correct, Sea Dragon," she said slowly. "The narwhal is indeed in that one." The queen pressed on the shell. It sprang open, and out swam a narwhal. The narwhal looked around in astonishment at the crowd. "What's going on?" "Nara!" Toothy cried. He tried to swim toward his friend, but the Fire Queen blocked his path. "You don't seriously believe that I would let you take her, do you?" She laughed nastily. "As if I would let anything get in the way of destroying these horrible, waste-of-space seas!"