Cinder’s Edge by Gil Hess

After returning to the Crossroads, now marked with Dominion, Wren Alder finds himself balancing the responsibilities of a shopkeeper with the growing demands of magic. The shop still hums with its familiar rhythm, the ledger now murmuring with the dry wit of Inkwell, his ever-present partner in reason and mischief. Yet every experiment, every spark of power, pulls him further from the life he once knew.When a formidable threat stirs, the safety of the Crossroads trembles. Wren must step beyond his counter and stand beside his friends against forces older and darker than legend. Each trial tests his courage and his fragile command of the arcane.In Cinder’s Edge, even the quietest corners of the world are not immune to rising shadows, and Wren must learn that the line between ordinary life and extraordinary destiny is thinner than anyone dares to believe.