The Burning Crown

Edrin Vale never wanted to be exceptional. As a miller's son conscripted into a border war, he only wanted to protect Tam, his best friend. When Tam dies reaching for him on the battlefield, Edrin's latent magic awakens, and he discovers he wields the same city-killing destruction that nearly ended the world three centuries ago.Bound by law to serve the crown, Edrin is taken by Caelan, one of the kingdom's seven Sovereigns, to learn control over magic that can unmake matter itself. At court, political factions war over his loyalty: Crown Prince Thomric demands harsher restrictions on Sovereigns, while his brother Corin leads quiet reform. As Edrin's power grows beyond what anyone expected, he must navigate court intrigue, master his destructive magic, and decide whether the system built on genocide's ashes deserves his loyalty or his rebellion.