The thrilling second novel of an all-new fantasy series from the legendary author behind the Shannara saga, about a human girl adapting to her place in a magical world she’s only recently discovered It’s been two years since Auris escaped from the sinister Goblin prison and learned of her heritage as one of the Fae. She is now happily partnered with her Fae lover, Harrow, and deeply bonded with her new family. All seems to be going perfectly—until, surprisingly, the Goblin attacks begin again. Someone, it seems, has not forgotten that Auris exists and seems determined to retrieve her . . . but who? And why? As Auris begins to dig deeper into the mystery, old friends and new enemies appear, and she starts to realize that her still-shrouded past must contain the answers she needs. But even Auris does not suspect how far down the rabbit hole she is about to go, until Harrow is taken and an impossible ransom demand is issued. With two new companions at her side, Auris must attempt to unlock the remaining secrets of her past. For if she cannot, she will never see Harrow alive again. Praise for Child of Light “An enticing new mystery . . . Auris is a tough but enchanting protagonist, and the page-turning mystery of her magical origins forms the novel’s heart. [Terry] Brooks’s fans will be thrilled to have a new series to savor.” —Publishers Weekly “ Child of Light is enchantingly feral. Precise in his prose, clever in his worldbuilding, Brooks stretches new muscles to explore a young woman’s quest for identity. The pace is rapid as a river, but this one twists hard and runs deep.” —Pierce Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Red Rising Saga “A fresh world, a new voice, but the same high quality Brooks always delivers . . . You’ll be glad you joined the expedition.” —Robin Hobb, New York Times bestselling author of Assassin’s Fate “With a unique setting that is a heady dystopic blend of mysticism and the future, Child of Light is an otherworldly adventure from the fertile mind of one of the most beloved storytellers of our generation.” —Wesley Chu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The War Arts Saga “With Child of Light, Terry Brooks continues to enchant both longtime fans and generations of new readers.” —Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Desert Prince “Terry Brooks unleashed is a wonderful thing. In Child of Light, he’s teasing us with a world that is both fairy tale and deadly serious, and keeping us off-guard the entire time, unsure of how to take . . . anyone and anything. It’s not really a ‘mystery,’ but it is, and even with the startling reveals, there’s so much left to explore and discover. I want to go back to Viridian Deep and I know that I will.” —R. A. Salvatore, author of The Legend of Drizzt series and the DemonWars Saga Terry Brooks has thrilled readers for decades with his powers of imagination and storytelling. He is the author of more than forty books, most of which have been New York Times bestsellers. He lives with his wife, Judine, in the Pacific Northwest. Chapter One The Goblins come for us in the early-morning hours, the heavy cloud cover blocking both moon and stars, rendering them all but invisible. The ertl warns us, its piercing chirp waking us instantly. Harrow and I, lying next to each other in bed, roll out and stand silently facing each other. Goblins, again. At first it was a surprise; now it is business as usual. You would think we would be done with Goblin intrusions. We thought we had sent the last of them packing almost two years ago—just before the Human invasion led by my father. The invasion that my mother put an end to. Yet here they are, returned once more. Five times in two months. It was frightening in my early days in Viridian Deep; now it is mostly an annoyance. We don’t even know what they are trying to do or what they want. It was me they wanted in the old days. They came for me twice then—sent once by my mother and once by my father. But that is the distant past. My birth parents are both dead, and there were no Goblin threats after. Until now, when suddenly they’ve started up again. But why? What is the point of coming after us now? Who is responsible for these most recent intrusions? The front door creaks slightly as it opens—something Harrow engineered to give us warning after the first two nighttime visits. The ertl is a further safeguard, and a more reliable one. You can sleep through the creaking of a door, but you cannot sleep through the chirp of an ertl. The ertl is a forest bird, but it can be domesticated and trained to perform simple functions. This, as it happens, is one of Harrow’s specialties. It took him less than two weeks to turn the ertl into an early warning system, and it has paid off. We now keep the bird caged in the house each night, and three times has it alerted us to these Goblin attacks—including tonight’s. Goblins have been enemies of the Sylvans sinc