Creatures of Light

Exiled from the Silverwood and the people she loves, Mae has few illusions about ever returning to her home. But when she comes across three out-of-place strangers in her wanderings, she finds herself contemplating the unthinkable: risking death to help a deposed queen regain her throne.

And if anyone can help Mona Alastaire of Lumen Lake, it is a former Woodwalker—a ranger whose very being is intimately tied to the woods they are sworn to protect. Mae was once one of the best, and despite the potential of every tree limb to become the gibbet she’s hanged from, she not only feels a duty to aid Mona and her brothers, but also to walk beneath her beloved trees once more.

A grand quest in the tradition of great epic fantasies, filled with adventure and the sharp wit—and tongue—of a unique hero, Woodwalker is the perfect novel to start your own journey into the realm of magical fiction.

“You are a country.”

Those words have been the guiding force behind Queen Mona’s every move since she was a little girl—the idea that all her actions and desires were, first and foremost, decided based on what was best for Lumen Lake. It had kept her alive after the Alcoran invasion, it had driven her to retake her country, and now it is the steely resolve she needs to finally confront the despotic Seventh King, Celeno.

But when her diplomatic mission finds herself on the run through the swamps of Cyprien—accompanied by the unlikeliest group of companions—Mona discovers that while she is her country, she is also someone who has been sheltered by principles and bound by past mistakes. Now she must struggle to reshape her view of the world and face intimate new truths—not only for the good of her country, but for herself, as well.

Queen Gemma—although she isn’t sure she still has claim to that title—is in prison.

To her people, it’s simply called “The Retreat,” but in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by guards and unable to speak to her husband, King Celeno, there’s no other word for it. The only comfort she has is knowing she might not be there long—the Prelate has let her know in no uncertain terms the council is, even now, deciding her ultimate fate.

And Gemma would resign herself to that if it wasn’t for a mysterious stranger breaking her free and setting her on a course that could change the world. With precious information—and a skeptical travel companion— Gemma must undertake a journey to find answers to the questions that have defined her life for years…and her country for centuries.

If she can make this desperate scheme work, she might not just forge peace between Alcoro and their neighbors, but win some peace of heart as well. And, perhaps, she’ll learn the same lessons Mae and Mona learned: that being Queen doesn’t mean having to do everything alone.

Creatures of Light—the eponymous third and final book in Emily B. Martin’s series—is a novel filled with adventure, betrayal, and a queen’s lifelong struggle to love and trust herself.