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If they hadn’t been looking at her with dead seriousness, she would have begun laughing. “I was dating Aidric Dawson?” The thought seemed as preposterous as her being a Wielder.

“Yes. You were quite serious,” Ella added.

None of that made any sense. She couldn’t even remember what he looked like. She felt nauseated. “Why did he do it?”

Ella bit her lips into a tight line. “He claims he manipulated your feelings for him.”

“Manipulated? How?”

“He says he used his internum signifier to transform your feeling of dislike toward him to…love.”

“What? That’s impossible.”

Oliver scratched the back of his neck. “Not quite. There are mentions of Wielders being able to transmute people’s feelings. It’s very rare.”

He had faked her feelings for him? “Why would he do that?”

Oliver exhaled. “He says he wanted to see how easy it would be to manipulate a Caster.”

She swallowed and wrapped her hand around her scar. What else had she agreed to under the influence of his manipulation? “Then why did he erase my memories?”

“Because you found out,” Ella answered.

“Is there a way to recover any of my memories?”

Ella shook her head. “Obryn says spells to erase memories are permanent, but we can help you fill in any blanks. Slowly.”

“Where is Dawson now? I want to speak to him. Ask him directly why he did it.”

“Nobody knows where he is,” Ella said. “Not even Obryn. They’re communicating on and off through scrolls but not much.”

“When was the last time he heard from Dawson?” she asked.

“About two days ago. Since then Obryn’s scrolls haven’t been going through.”

“Can you get me information on him? A picture? I don’t even know what he looks like, and I’ve been…dating him for months.” Saying that out loud seemed wrong. Everything did at the moment.

—

An hour later, Obryn arrived with a file in his hands. His demeanor was unreadable as he handed it to her.

Aidric Dawson, the file read.

“Before you open it, I must remind you not to force any memories. Your mind is still fragile, and overwhelming it will only be detrimental to you.”

She wanted desperately to grasp for memories, but there was her life before Ivercrest and then a black hole.

The tan folder in her hands had no signs of wear, suggesting Obryn had put it together specifically for her, with only the information he deemed necessary. Nonetheless, it had weight to it.

Don’t think about your history with him, she told herself. Just learn about him like a subject in school. With timid fingers, she opened the folder. On the first page, she saw his name, height, date of birth, and his picture.

Cold silver eyes stared back at her, and she had no recollection of ever meeting this person. This stranger. One whom she had been dating for months. Who had erased her memories.

She swallowed and took a closer look. He wasn’t smiling, and his sharp, angular features made him look aristocratic. Entitlement practically dripped from him, even in a photo. His eyes were the coldest silver she’d ever seen.

What had he done to her? Had they been intimate? She didn’t dare ask her friends. They had been “dating” for months. Of course they had been intimate. The thought made her want to vomit.

Ella gave her a crooked smile, trying to reassure her. Of what, she wasn’t sure, because nothing was all right. “You seemed really happy with him, if it’s any consolation.”