The ultra-rich control magic—the same way they control everything else—but Stephen Oakwood may just beat them at their own game in this exhilarating contemporary fantasy from the author of the Alex Verus novels. Stephen Oakwood has emerged victorious against the schemes of his aristocratic family. Now he finally has the opportunity to do what he’s been wanting to do for a long time: track down his father.   But doing so won’t be easy. Stephen’s not so isolated any more, but the contacts he’s making in the magical world—everyone from the corporation he works for to the mother he’s just beginning to reconnect with—all have agendas of their own. And now a new group is emerging from the shadows, calling themselves the Winged. Their leader, the mysterious Byron, promises that he can show Stephen how to find his father...but he wants something in return. Following that trail will throw Stephen into greater danger than he’s ever faced before. To survive, he’ll need to use all of his tricks and sigls, and pick up some new ones. Only then will he be able to prevail against his enemies...and find out who’s really pulling the strings. “The new magic system introduced in this series, which began with An Inheritance of Magic , continues to fascinate, and the stories will remind readers of classic urban fantasies (such as the “Dresden Files” series from Jim Butcher), as Stephen’s world gets more dangerous and he powers through each setback by learning bigger and better magic and paying a higher price each and every time.” —Library Journal "[A] dense, pulse-pounding fantasy adventure." —Publishers Weekly "A fantastic follow-up to the previous book. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite new series, especially in the urban fantasy genre. If you want to explore a new magic system in a world filled with political intrigue, then you should check out this series."—Game Vortex Praise for An Inheritance of Magic "One of the most satisfying contemporary fantasies I have read in a long time; cozy and human, with some good fight scenes to boot. . . . an enchanting journey into a world where sorcery may be for sale, but agency is beyond price." — Wall Street Journal "Benedict Jacka gives us a flawed protagonist but ensures we are always on his side. . . . Benedict Jacka is one of my must-reads."—#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris "A captivating, compelling story." —SFX Magazine "Jacka has drawn a potent new world of magic controlled by a privileged few, and Stephen Oakwood is the sigl-wielding rebel we didn’t know we needed." — New York Times bestselling author Chloe Neill "A world of magic usually known only to the rich and powerful is put to the test in the page-turning urban fantasy that launches an intriguing new series. . . . There's lots of promise to this eat-the-rich world. Readers will be eager to see where things go next." — Publishers Weekly Benedict Jacka is the author of the Alex Verus novels, which began in 2012 with Fated and ended in 2021 with Risen . He studied philosophy at Cambridge, taught English in China, and worked at everything from civil servant to bouncer before becoming a full-time writer. For information about his books, settings, and releases, check his website at BenedictJacka.co.uk or his Twitter at @BenedictJacka. It was wet, it was cold, and I was worried. Misty rain was falling, too heavy for drizzle and too light to be a downpour. Where the yellow-white lights of the Olympic Park shone, you could see the raindrops slanting down against the darkness of the overcast sky. I was sheltering under a tree, and the wind was blowing gusts of rain in under the branches, sending cold droplets flying into my face. It was a Saturday night in East London, and I was in Stratford, on a grassy bank above a road called Marshgate Lane. A small grove of trees grew next to a chain-link fence, and had there been any passersby, they might have wondered what was so special about this particular grove that I was choosing to spend my Saturday night here in the cold and rain. The answer was simple: beneath one of these trees was a Well. Wells are gathering points for essentia, the raw energy used in drucraft. I'd become pretty good at judging their strength over the past six months, and I estimated this one as on the low end of D+. Which meant that Linford's, the corporation I worked for, would pay me £700 for it. But they'd only pay me that £700 if it was still there, and when I found this Well there'd been someone loitering, a boy in a thick hooded anorak. He'd retreated at my approach, but he'd lingered just a little too long afterwards before disappearing. Which was why I was out here, getting rained on, making sure that when the corp extraction team arrived, there'd be a Well here to get paid for. The wind shifted, sending another gust of rain into my eyes. I shivered and edged around the tree, though there wasn't much point-my fleece and trousers were t