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The Wielder girl was still dressed entirely in black. Mira wondered if it had to do with Dawson or if it was simply her favorite color. She waved her gloved hand. “Trying isn’t going to get her anywhere. There is a reason Wielders have to gain their control signifier first. But you have five signifiers already, meaning you’re overloaded with power. I don’t know if you can tame all that magic.”

Rylan gingerly stepped forward. “I am no Wielder, but I’m inclined to agree with Amelia. In my research, I found that Wielders who had amnesia were still able to use their magic. They didn’t forget it. What happened to you is…unheard of.”

Mira forced out a bitter laugh. “Excellent!”

“Maybe we overlooked something with your recovery?” Rylan wondered. “I’ll do more research.”

Regaining her powers wasn’t working. Her memories, though unlocked, didn’t seem to be reappearing. Think, Mira!

In potion work, when her theory didn’t come to fruition, she would have to go back to research. She remembered Dawson’s massive library on Dark Magic. Maybe she could find something there?

“I’ll do some research as well,” she said.

After they said their goodbyes, she flipped her coin and landed in the estate’s living room. Lights instantly came on, and the fire crackled to life.

As she marched across the foyer, she thought it was still odd being at a stranger’s house that somehow felt so…familiar. Like an old friend.

The moment she opened the doors to the library she was awe-struck again by the sheer size of the collection. She went through rows of books, picking the ones she thought could help. Books on memory erasure, on reversing Dark Magic, on how to break through shields.

But nothing. She sat on the floor and discarded the latest book in the pile of unhelpful ones. Her head throbbed, and she checked the time. Four in the morning. She had to get some sleep. This wasn’t something she could solve now. Maybe she never would be able to. Or perhaps Ella was right and it took time. How long would it take? Would she get her memories back when she was in her eighties? Bit by bit? Would she never be able to wield Dark Magic again? She leaned back on the cold floor and closed her eyes.

“What else can I try?” she sighed.

A loud thud made her jump. She sat up and turned around, but she was alone.

“Hello?”

No answer. Slowly, she stood and walked back to the door, past the rows of shelves, and looked in the hallway. But she saw nobody. Old houses often made strange noises. Especially magic ones.

She turned around and walked back, and that’s when she noticed a book on the floor. It must have fallen off the shelf. No intruder, then. The book was open, its spine side up. The letters on the weathered leather cover were barely readable. She picked it up and turned it around. It had opened to an energy syndication spell. Intrigued, she read about Wielders’ ability to connect magic. She was about to close the book and put it back on its shelf when she read the next line: The spell can help new Wielders explore their powers.

Could it help her regain her Dark Magic?

She kept reading.

Syndication can also be performed with magic objects or entities as power anchors.

Entities.

She stared up at the ceiling and laughed. The book hadn’t found her by accident.

The estate had answered her question.

54

Mira read through the spell three times and prepared all of the ingredients. When she couldn’t find something, she asked the estate and it provided it for her. Then she set up in the foyer—a place where not much could break aside from the windows.

Maybe the estate wouldn’t be able to guide her magic as an entity, but it was worth a try. If she could reconnect with her Dark Magic, she might be able to unlock her memories.

As instructed in the book, she sat on the floor, right where the light from the full moon hit. She drew a chalk circle around herself and fortified it with salt. Next, she lit a bushel of dried willowberry leaves on fire. When smoke rose from them, she blew out the flames and tossed the leaves in a bowl. The aroma of the leaves wafted across the room.

The spell required only a minimal amount of her Dark Magic, just enough to connect with the estate. But that was easier said than done. She was afraid her dark shadows would slash through the walls and destroy the estate.

She stared up at the ceiling again. “I hope you’re right.”

She lit four candles around her and closed her eyes. Taking a deep inhale, she focused on her powers.

“I give as I am,” she said, and the candles flickered at the incantation of the spell. “I give as I am.”