Magic Thief: Found by Sarah Prineas

Conn has been through a lot in his life, from a street thief to being one of the most powerful magicians in the city of Wellmet. But after burning his locus magicalicus to dust to free the spirit of magic of the city when it had been trapped by Pettivox, a mage, and Crowe, the Underlord of Twilight, the poor section of the city.

after losing his locus, Conn found the city Of Desh, and specifically its Lord, Jaggus, had been behind the plan to imprison the magical being that is the source of life and magic in the City of Wellmet. But he'd been banished from the city, so when he returned, he was immediately thrown in Prison under the Dawn Palace. But Conn's master, the Mage Nevery Finglass, slipped him the lockpicks he needed to escape. Now, he's hiding out in the Twilight and trying to ward off Arhionvar, the magic of a city that was destroyed and is looking for some place to go.

But even in Twilight, his life isn't easy. The former members of Underlord Crowe's gang are looking for him, thinking that he wants to be the next Underlord. That's the last thing he wants, but that's not what the new Underlord thinks. Thankfully, the new Underlord, Embre, is his cousin and Crowe's son, and he is willing to listen to Conn about the great danger that the city is in.

Conn can't speak to the spirit of the city without a locus magicalicus, so while he tries to speak with the magic spirit of Wellmet with pyrotechnics, he must go in search of a new locus stone. And to do that, he must perform one last pyrotechnics spell- with the aid of Nevery.

But as he leaves the city, it's still in trouble. The Duchess is slowly turning to stone after being stabbed by one of the shadowsilver creatures from Desh and is slowly dying as well. But she will not turn over power to her daughter, Rowan. And the Captain of the Palace Guard, Kerrn, is still looking to arrest and have Conn tried and killed for his crimes.

But Arhionvar is coming, and Conn wants to save his city and the people he loves in it. Can he find his locus magicalicus in time, and what will happen when he finds it lying deep inside a dragon's den... and guarded by its offspring? Will the other mages believe him when he tells them that dragons still exist? And can Conn find his locus in time to save Wellmet? What cost might he have to pay to do so?

An excellent third book in the series. I am hoping that this is not the end for Conn and Wellmet, even though the situation is resolved at the end of the book, there is so much more that Sarah Prineas could do with Conn and this world. Even though he came late to magic, he seems to know or be able to find out more about it than the mages who have been taught magic for years.

And the introduction of Dragons, and an excerpt at the end about how cities are built over old dragon lairs (presented as a bit of information the writer of the book did not extrapolate and interpret, give something for the books to go on to do for Conn.

But even if we get a book about, say, Rowan or something, I'd still like to explore more of this fascinating world, and perhaps get away from the Peninsular Duchies to explore somewhere else. Highly recommended, and I hope to see more.