Matthew S. Cox – författare

Sophie lives in a most peculiar cottage at the center of the Forgotten Forest, its inside much larger than its outside.You see, the house must be large, for it holds a great troll as well as a little girl. As one might expect, working for such a creature is rather frightening to a seven-year-old, but the endless expanse of black trees outside is even scarier.She's afraid to make even the slightest sound, for the troll abhors loud children.He's not terribly fond of quiet children either―unless they're in his stew.Sophie's precious light offers comfort in her darkest moments. She can't remember where it came from, but it's her only source of hope holding back the gloom that yearns to devour her soul. Trolls are covetous beasts, and when he spots her shiny bauble and steals it, Sophie faces two terrible options:Stay and suffer the wrath of a furious troll, or take her chances in a forest of her deepest fears.

Two weeks after Maya tried to save the world, little has changed. Little, except for a nine-year-old's building fear that her ex-mother's revenge waits around every corner.When her face appeared on every still-working video monitor along the Eastern Seaboard, streaming her plea and her evidence all over the planet, she thought they'd won. Alas, her fairy tale dream died. The Authority didn't become noble overnight. Her ex-mother didn't face punishment for her crimes. The lack of any retribution, or even any effort on the part of the Brigade to hide her, only fans the flames of her worry.To make matters worse, her best friend Sarah is hiding a painful secret.Maya's fears come to fruition in the middle of the night. In a hail of gunfire, she and Sarah flee into the dangerous streets of the Habitation District, rife with dosers, street gangs, corrupt Authority officers, chased by an unknown enemy worse than Ascendant.They don't want to kidnap her―they want her dead.