Thief's Magic - Sangwheel Chronicles, #5

A thief with magic is dangerous.A thief who rewrites the law is revolutionary.In the aftermath of Blood Gate Night, the Empire of Lumiaron is cracking at its seams. Magic—once the sacred privilege of nobles—now stirs in common hands, and the old laws were never written for this. Gilliam knows that better than anyone. One of the Empire's few unsashed dusang mages, Gilliam rules Somfaux's criminal underworld with wit, leverage, and just enough magic to keep his enemies afraid. When a powerful duke sends a chevalier to kill him in a "lawful" noble duel, Gilliam is forced into a deadly corner. If he fights, he legitimizes a system that was never meant to protect him. If he runs, he loses everything he's built. As emperors, priests, guilds, and nobles converge on Somfaux, Gilliam becomes the fault line in a brewing political earthquake—one that could redefine what power, justice, and class mean in a world where magic no longer obeys bloodlines.