A Judgement of Powers – Chapter 1

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Benedict

Here’s Chapter 1 of Book #3 in the Inheritance of Magic series, A Judgement of Powers!

Chapter 2 will release four weeks from now, on October 10th.

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13 Responses to A Judgement of Powers – Chapter 1

  1. Axel says:
    September 12, 2025 at 8:12 pm

    Gah! I was supposed to wait until the official relase of the book so that I could binge it in one whole go, but nooo. I, of course, had to make it difficult for myself by not being able to help myself and read chapter 1 straight away.. Now I am more excited than ever and I have no idea how I am supposed to be able to endure 2 more months before the rest of the book (with the exception of chapter 2) is released :,)

    Ahhhh, the suspense!

  2. Celia says:
    September 13, 2025 at 4:12 am

    Love it!!!

  3. Carmen says:
    September 13, 2025 at 10:26 am

    I love the relationship Stephen has with his father. I also can’t help but like Stephen’s father too. The resilience he must have had to raise Stephen on hiw own..

    It’s unfortunate that they were struggling so much that he had to resort into joining the cult though.. I can’t help but wonder if that’s why he didn’t want to let Stephen’s mother see him after “Bridget” was born..

    Although,I wouldn’t be surprised if it stemmed from resentment too. Not ideal, but understandable. Stephen’s mother had her reasons, but she still just up and left.. It would make sense for Stephen’s father to want to “protect” Stephen’s feelings after that..

    Either way, Stephen’s father seem much more grounded and actually empathetic over the situation Stephen has been placed in.. A vast difference from Stephen’s mother, probably comes from being ultra-rich, who doesn’t understand and can’t communicate properly..

    It will be interesting to hopefully learn more about his father’s side in this book. Who knows, maybe I’ll even warm up more towards his mother too.

    Looking forward to it!

    • Bill says:
      September 13, 2025 at 1:33 pm

      Hum, not too sure that we fully understand why Stephen’s mother left. His father was, presumably, a member of the Winged at that stage which doesn’t reflect that well on him. In could be, in part, why his wife left him and her price for re-joining the Ashfords was not seeing her son again. Mind you, the Ashfords seem to be an unemotional lot (exception Bridget) all working for the betterment of the house while distancing themselves from all in it even their children…

      • Carmen says:
        September 14, 2025 at 3:32 pm

        Hm. I am pretty sure that Stephen’s father joined the cult after the mother had left. That’s at least how I understood it. They were struggling and that’s partly why his father felt desperate enough to join them.

        It’s true that we don’t know the entire true motivation for the mother leaving, it seems to have something to do with protection.. Although, the mother being unhappy with her life also seems to be a part of it.

        However, given that she couldn’t see Stephen either way after Tobias’s essentia reading… It might have been for the best that she didn’t get to see Stephen back then? It sounds strange and cruel to say, but the way so many of the Ashfords communicate.. It might have only contributed to more misunderstandings?

        So, yes. I completely agree with you in regards of the Ashfords.. They seem so out of touch with emotions.

        It’s actually what made me so interested in this series in the first place. It’s fascinating to see how the “ultra-rich” live in comparison to the rest. Looking forward to the book! 🙂

        Reading the next segment, as well as re-reading the previous books will probably help me establish more of an accurate timeline of events..

        • Denis says:
          September 24, 2025 at 3:56 pm

          Hose Ashford is a veritable snake pit that’s for sure. I wonder, is Charles Ashford aware of Lucella’s connection to The Winged? If he is aware of the cult’s attempts to infiltrate his house. That would explain his attitude towards Stephen’s father, who was known to be a member, and Stephen himself who he must suspect might be recruited as well.

  4. Martin says:
    September 17, 2025 at 7:02 pm

    Stephen and William’s relationship is wholesome. I like William Oakwood a lot already. I can tell he has been through a lot.. and that he shares a special relationship with Stephen due to them only having each other for a long time.

  5. Anastasia says:
    September 18, 2025 at 8:59 am

    Ohhh. The suspense! I wonder why Byron is so interested in Stephen. Vermillion seemed interested too, and Mark definitively feels threatened.

    Why can Stephen see essentia the way that he does? And how was he able to throw off “the mind manipulation” both Lucella and Byron threw at him?

    I hope we get more clues in this book so that we can make more plausible theories.

    • Alicia W. says:
      October 8, 2025 at 5:04 pm

      My theory is that Father Hawke’s mentoring/tutoring of Stephen is how he was able to resist Byron’s attempt to at mental manipulation. I think the assigned reading & the chats about those books has sharpened Stephen’s critical thinking skills, helping him resist Byron’s attempt at control.

      • Celia says:
        October 10, 2025 at 1:50 am

        He did resist Lucella’s mind control attempt at the party at Ashford House though, before he met Father Hawke. I wonder if his sensing practice – essentially meditation? – strengthened his mind. Or he already had some unique ability before his… vision quest?

        Or did you mean the non-magical part of Byron’s recruitment pitch?

  6. Jamie says:
    September 24, 2025 at 2:21 pm

    I am so excited for the release of the book! I hope we get to see more of Stephen developing more sigls and becoming better at it 🙂

    Stephen seems like a resourceful person. I love it. Reminds me of Alex in that sense.

  7. Amaya says:
    October 7, 2025 at 7:30 pm

    Hum. Hum..

    I am curious as to what his father’s perspective of the story will be.. Although, I am even more curious as to see what light William can shed on Stephen’s essentia ‘seeing’ abilities.

    Perhaps Stephen will figure more things out if he ever gets around to continuing his “weekly tutoring/guidance sessions” with his grandfather, Charles..

    He’s been left in the dark a lot which definitively has put a damper on his opportunity to grow stronger.

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