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“Could I get my jacket?”

“You will. Follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

But he was already walking away. She hurried to keep up with his long strides as they crossed the living room and then headed out the main door. Dawson’s estate was surrounded by perfectly trimmed hedges, making it look like a fortress. Gravel crunched under her shoes as they walked past the hedges until they were encircled by old trees. Thick branches shut out much of the daylight.

“Any progress on your control signifier?” he asked.

Was he serious? He was asking her about school? “Let me see, between working on a top-secret murder mystery and almost getting killed, I haven’t quite found the time.”

Dawson shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on a tree branch. He placed hers next to it.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to train you.”

“Now?”

“Is there something better you have to do?”

Yes, she would rather do anything but be trained in combat by him in a cold forest. She wanted to get away from magic, not gain more. “I’m not going to train with you.”

“Yes, you will.”

By the spheres, the arrogance of this man was impressive. “Make me.”

A sharp grin tugged on his lips. “I intend to.”

With the snap of his fingers, a wall of dark mist appeared around the trees. “You can’t coin travel from within this circle. The only way out is to gain your control signifier.”

“You’re psychotic.”

“So I’ve been told,” he said proudly.

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

“And yet I took it as one.”

“Look, there is no way I’m going to get the stupid signifier today. I don’t know Dark Magic, and it takes time. And why do you care anyway?”

“I care, Winters, that you don’t die on assignment. If yesterday taught me anything it’s that you’re wholly unprepared to be in a fight, which wouldn’t be a problem were it not for your utter stupidity of entering a crime scene by yourself.”

“I wasn’t unprepared—I was outnumbered.”

His chest heaved with angry breaths, and the Shadowflame on his fist flickered with fury.

“For spheres’ sake, you used fucking white spells against Wielders. I thought the war taught Casters better.”

Dawson rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and she couldn’t help but stare at the dragon tattoo. The scales looked so realistic, they seemed to move on their own.

“I will not let you out of this circle until you are at least able to use the bare minimum of Dark Magic.”

I can’t use Dark Magic.

I can’t.

“I don’t know how to,” she bit back.