TIDAL WAVES

For five hundred years, war has raged between humans and mermaids, a conflict born from betrayal and fueled by blood. The sea belongs to the mermaids-stronger, faster, and deadly in their element. The land belongs to humans-resilient, relentless, and armed with cultivation techniques that rival mermaid strength. But the balance is shattered by the Abyssal Reapers-ruthless hunters who steal mermaid soul pearls to consume their power.

In a world torn apart by war, sixteen-year-old Nerissa has spent her entire life hidden away in a cave, raised by a strict and distant father who warned her of the dangers beyond. She knows nothing of the war, nothing of the world outside-only that she must never leave. But when her father vanishes, leaving behind a cryptic letter and a map, she has no choice but to step beyond the only home she has ever known.

Alone, vulnerable, and utterly unprepared, Nerissa stumbles into a world where survival is not guaranteed. Taken in by a respected military family, she finds herself in a place she does not belong-surrounded by warriors, secrets, and a growing unease that she is not like them. As she struggles to understand the world around her, a truth buried in her very blood begins to surface.

She is not human.

She is not safe.

And in a world where her kind is hunted, her existence alone is a death sentence.

With the Abyssal Reapers lurking in the shadows and a past she does not remember coming for her, Nerissa must uncover the truth-before it destroys her first.