“Hey!” Finley surfaced nearby. “Oneshark!”
Estelle shrugged. “You take up a lot of space.”
Hetta recoiled from the water like a scandalized cat. “I’m not going in any lake with a shark in it!”
“I could get out if you like,” Finley offered.
Paige suppressed a sigh. “She really is just teasing you, Hetta. I promise, there’s nothing dangerous in the lake.”
“You’ve never seen Finley in his shift form,” Estelle said. “I wishIwas twenty feet long with three rows of razor-sharp teeth.”
“Beth,” Paige said as Hetta’s eyes widened. “Perhaps you and Estelle would like to go and join the other kids.”
Beth, thankfully, took the hint. Throwing Paige an apologetic look, she herded Estelle away before she could do any more damage.
Paige turned back to Hetta, who was now eying the lake as though Jaws himself might erupt from the placid surface at any moment. “There really isn’t anything to worry about, Hetta. Look, at least try sitting on the dock with your feet in the water, okay? For me?”
“Nuh-uh.” Hetta folded her arms. “I’m not getting in that lake. And we all signed the pack contract, so you can’t make me. I’m staying on dry land where it’s safe.”
With an air of finality, Hetta marched away, heading for shore. Paige stared after her, torn. She didn’t want to just give up, but she didn’t know what else she could say to change Hetta’s mind.
Conleth returned, now fully dressed. Paige tried to ignore the small pang of disappointment.
He joined her on the dock, casting a curious look back at Hetta. “Problem?”
Paige blew out her breath. “Hetta’s coming up with all sorts of tenuous reasons why she doesn’t want to swim. She can’t really be afraid of crocodiles, can she?”
“Ah. I think I know what’s going on.” He lowered his voice, turning a little so that his back was to the other campers. “Did you realize she can shift?”
“What?” Paige stared at him, startled. “How do you know that?”
Conleth’s gaze rested thoughtfully on Hetta, now sitting on the steps of the boathouse with her chin on her knees. “Rufus.”
“Rufus?” Paige looked for the griffin shifter, and found he was also staring in Hetta’s direction, brow furrowed. “Did he tell you?”
Conleth shook his head. “Rufus doesn’t reveal other people’s secrets. But I was watching him at the campfire on the first night. He’s extremely perceptive, even for a griffin shifter. From the way he reacted when Hetta said she couldn’t shift, I’m certain she was lying.”
Paige watched Rufus splash his way out of the lake, heading for Hetta. “But the whole point of Camp Thunderbird is so that young shifters can be free to be themselves. Why would she lie about not being able to shift?”
“Not all shifters are apex predators or impressive mythical beasts. Perhaps she feels self-conscious about her shift form. That would explain why she doesn’t want to go swimming. Young shifters often have trouble controlling their transformations in moments of stress or excitement, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
“Only too well,” Paige muttered. Something else occurred to her, and she sucked in her breath. “Conleth, there must be something more going on. I talked to Leonie. From what she said, I don’t think Hetta’sdadknows she can shift.”
From the way Conleth’s brow furrowed, this was news to him. “Interesting. I wonder if Hetta’s truly as homesick as she makes out. If she’s terrified someone will discover her secret, she might be hoping we’ll eventually relent and let her go home.”
“We have to find a way to help her.” Paige wracked her brain, but shifter kids whodidn’twant to shift were way outside her wheelhouse. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but do you have a plan?”
Conleth’s fingers tapped absently against his thigh. “For now, let’s act as if we don’t know. At the moment we’re just twostrange adults who’ve been foisted on her. It’ll take time to win her trust.”
“She seems to have one friend, at least,” Paige said, as Rufus joined Hetta on the stairs. “Maybe she’ll confide in Rufus. But how are we going to persuade her to join in the activities? She’s not going to have any fun at camp if she’s too scared she might shift to try anything new.”
Conleth rubbed his chin. “Let me see what I can do. I should be able to coax her into a few things at?—”
“CONLETH!”
Adrenaline spiked through her at the yell. She whirled, but Conleth was far faster. She’d hadn’t even had time to draw breath before he was back on the dock—now dripping wet, with Archie in his arms.
“What is it?” Paige snatched her brother away from Conleth, anxiously searching him for any sign of injury. “Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
