“N-no.” She wiped her cheeks dry, and her red-rimmed eyes focused on me for the first time. I saw the moment she processed I wasn’t just another camper. I was too calm, and I asked too many questions. Ones she knew instinctively involved her missing sister. “Who are you?”

“Camille Ellis. I work for the Earthen Conclave.”

“I’m Daphne Tanner. My sister is Veronica.” Her voice went soft. “Roni.”

Roni Tanner. Another name etched into my memory. I hoped like Elizabeth McKenna, I would remember her as a girl who survived, and not one who was fallen.

“Are you familiar with the area?” I guided the young woman toward a composite bench, the type made from recycled plastic, and we sat across from one another. “What brought you out here?”

“I’m attending college out of state. I came home for the weekend, and Roni begged to go camping. Just us girls. Our folks come up here all the time, but they have an RV. It’s not really camping when you can watch TV and walk around in your bathrobe, you know?” Her gaze lit on their tent. “I can’t drive the RV anyway. It’s huge, and the roads out here…” Her bottom lip trembled. “Roni was guilt-tripping me about never spending time with her, so I borrowed a tent from a friend.” She glanced over at me. “One night. That was it. How did this happen?”

I took her hand and squeezed her fingers. “Walk me through what happened last night.”

“We ate around six. Roni was bored, and she wanted to search for that damn fish one more time before bed, but I was tired. I told her no. She wouldn’t listen when I said it had swam off to be with its family.” She made a wriggling motion with her hand. “I was scared it might be floating belly-up on top of the water if she went looking. I’ve been studying for finals, so I was wiped. I didn’t want more drama. We went to bed around eight. I should have heard her when she left the tent. She had to step over my head to get out, but I don’t know. She must have sneaked past me.”

Working under the assumption the kelpie’s actions were being orchestrated by a magic user, it made sense they might also be casting sleep enchantments on the victims’ families. All the better to lure the young and curious without getting caught.

“Is more help coming?” Daphne scanned the road behind me with a hopeful expression.

“I dropped my cell,” I lied. “I’ll have to wait for my backup to find me.” Her crestfallen acceptance forced me to act the part. Even if it got me in hot water with Graeson. “Unless… Do you have a phone I can borrow?”