The hearthstone was warm before the fire was lit. That was the first thing wrong.
His assignment is straightforward.
The valley is not.
Edvar Moss is more comfortable with magic than with people. His first posting takes him to Aldenmere, a village inside a mountain crater, to inspect an inn’s hearth before snow closes the pass. But the cracked hearthstone is warm without a fire, and he can see magic moving inside it. The innkeeper, Maret Voss, won’t let him work magic under her roof without her permission, but she feeds him anyway.
The hearth is tied to an old spell that protects the valley. And the spell is failing.
His overseer expects a reassuring report. The truth could cost him his career. To keep the inn standing, Edvar must work alongside Burr, a walking hawthorn with opinions, and a stonemason who has measured the crack for six winters. But Aldenmere learned long ago to be wary of gifts like his. As winter closes in, saving the place he has come to love may cost him the trust of the people who made it feel like home.
A cozy fantasy for readers of Legends & Lattes and Emily Wilde. First in the Tholemarch series.
