Shield of Sparrows

The crew takes rowboats to shore, where all Odessa can see is forest. She spots the Guardian speaking with the High Priest. Though she can’t feel the Voster’s magic over the distance between them, she is unnerved at the possibility that he might travel with them to Allesaria; Voster magic is uncomfortable for her to endure. She wonders if the Voster gave the Guardian his supposed powers.

The High Priest separates from the group and walks alone into the forest. Odessa overhears the warriors talking about a man named Jack who joined the militia of Ramsey Wolfe, the king of Turah, two months ago. Odessa wonders why the king needs a militia in addition to his royal army and decides it’s likely a special regiment trained for the migration. Odessa briefly meets a woman named Tillia, who will be aiding in transporting the supplies and belongings to their eventual location.

Odessa rides a horse through the forest with the Turan caravan. They travel well into the night, which is how Odessa learns that the Guardian has night vision. They eventually stop to camp, and the Guardian amuses himself by exchanging provocative banter with Odessa. He also warns her not to wander past the fires around the camp. When Odessa asks the Guardian to tell Zavier that she wants a private audience with him later, he becomes suspicious. Left alone in her tent with her lady’s maids, Odessa listens to Brielle’s worries about the monsters in the area—grizzurs, tarkin, and bariwolves. She hopes that the fires will keep them away from the camp.

After sleep and a meal, Odessa wanders the camp with Tillia shadowing her. She learns that they are traveling to the town of Ellder. When Odessa asks if they will travel to Allesaria after Ellder, Tillia becomes wary and doesn’t confirm or deny it.

Tillia departs when the Guardian approaches. Odessa asks him about a roar she heard during the camp’s sleeping hours, which the Guardian confirms was a grizzur that he hunted down and killed. He brings her to where the massive beast is lying at the edge of camp; its frame is bearlike with deadly arm-length spikes along its back. The Guardian warns her again not to stray beyond the camp’s fires. He then leaves camp with Zavier and three other warriors on horseback.

The following day, the Guardian trains Odessa with blades for hours. Though she finds him attractive, she refuses to acknowledge it beyond fleeting thoughts. Eventually, a thunderstorm rolls in, and the Guardian forces Odessa to train while rain pours down. Odessa’s instinct is to retreat from his attacks, so the Guardian keeps attacking until she learns to stand her ground and fight back. He accuses her of preferring to “rot” in a castle even as her family ignores her, angering Odessa into attacking him. When she does, the Guardian expresses approval for the first time. She attacks until she’s completely drained; while she improves, she misses her mark every time.

Zavier interrupts the session, and though the Guardian wants to continue, Zavier releases Odessa from the obligation. Zavier informs Odessa that he will be traveling to Perris for business but that she will be staying with the caravan and continuing the journey toward Ellder.

When the camp packs up and continues moving the following day, Odessa realizes that the Guardian has also left with Zavier and a few warriors. During their sleeping hours, the camp is surrounded by bariwolves, and eventually a grizzur attacks. The camp prepares for impact, but the Guardian arrives just in time to slay the monster. Afterward, the Guardian shares a tender moment with Tillia. Watching them have a huddled conversation in which Tillia rests a hand on the Guardian’s chest, Odessa wonders if they are romantically involved. She ignores the jealousy the sight conjures. When they leave camp the next morning, Odessa notes the green blood seeping from the slain grizzur, its milky white eyes, and foam at the corners of its mouth.

During another long day on horseback, Tillia informs Odessa that there’s been a change in plan; they will be stopping in a town called Treow instead. The Guardian left again after killing the grizzur, so when commotion occurs in the group ahead, Odessa assumes he’s returned. She is expecting a reunion between him and Tillia, but Tillia is approached by a different Turan warrior, who kisses her passionately. Tillia introduces him to Odessa as her husband, Halston. Odessa realizes that the Guardian was informing a worried Tillia of her husband’s status the other night when they were huddled close, as he was one of the warriors accompanying Zavier on his business.

The group arrives in Treow, where the people live in houses built into trees. As Odessa gets situated in her own tree house, the Guardian enters. When she asks about Zavier, the Guardian vaguely states that the prince has been detained. When he leaves, he takes the ladder with him, stranding her up in the tree.

The ladder is back when Odessa wakes. Tillia greets Odessa, telling her to ask the clerk for anything she needs and listing Ashmore as the closest town; it brings shipments once or twice a week. When Odessa asks about Allesaria, Tillia shuts down again. Odessa notices a young girl watching her curiously from afar. Tillia then leads Odessa toward the library, but the post arrives before they can reach it. Tillia reveals that the pony riders, the postmen, travel all over the country to deliver mail, and Odessa wonders if she could gather information on Allesaria’s location from a pony rider.

The Guardian pulls Odessa away for hours of training. They chat briefly in between rounds, and Odessa notices a leather cuff on his arm featuring carved symbols and patterns. When she asks about it, he admits that they mark the lives he’s taken.

The Guardian continues to steal Odessa’s ladder each night and return it by morning, just before they begin a day of training. After one such session, Odessa crosses paths with Mariette, the caretaker (village chief) in Treow, who doesn’t seem to like her much. Odessa also meets Cathlin, the town librarian, who is much warmer. Cathlin shows Odessa to the library, and Odessa borrows a few books, including a diary by a man named Samuel Hay detailing his year spent in Quentis.

Back in her treehouse, Odessa reads Samuel Hay’s book. He views Quentins as thieves and traitors and accuses Odessa’s father of many attempted assassinations, even blaming him for the murder of Odessa’s mother. The accusation enrages Odessa, who doesn’t believe it to be true. She is awoken in the middle of the night by a sound at the base of her tree. She emerges quietly and sees a lionwick beast below. The Guardian emerges from the tree next door to hers but isn’t inclined to bother the beast.

Tillia trains Odessa the following day. When Odessa asks about the lionwick, Tillia claims that it’s been snared, taken to the mountains, and set loose. The lionwick wasn’t killed because it keeps the deer population in balance, but they kill beasts such as grizzurs and bariwolves on sight, as well as anything feral. When Odessa asks what constitutes “feral,” Tillia doesn’t answer. After training, Odessa asks Tillia about Zavier. He hasn’t returned since splitting from the caravan on the way to Treow. Tillia claims that he was traveling from Perris to Ellder the last she heard.

The Guardian rides briskly through the encampment near dinner time, leaving just before King Ramsey and a group of soldiers arrive in Treow. Tillia and Cathlin hide Odessa as the soldiers search the town, burning all the books from Cathlin’s library, which devastates the woman hiding beside Odessa. Ramsey seems to be looking for his son but doesn’t find him. Well after the king and soldiers leave, Odessa has dinner and returns to her tree house, where she discovers all her belongings upended. The books she borrowed from Cathlin are gone, but her journal, necklace, and currency are safe—stashed in a satchel she hung from a higher limb. When she climbs up to check on it, the Guardian sees her from his own treehouse and remarks on her cleverness.

A week of training with Tillia and eating meals with Brielle and Jocelyn passes. At night, Odessa wonders about Zavier and the Guardian’s whereabouts. The Guardian left the morning after King Ramsey’s visit and hasn’t returned.

One day, as Tillia and Odessa are training, the Guardian’s return interrupts them. When he takes over, he’s impressed by Odessa’s improvement. Meanwhile, a girl named Evangeline studies them from nearby, drawing a genuine smile from the Guardian that distracts Odessa. Evangeline is supposed to be in lessons with a woman named Luella. Noticing their familiarity, Odessa wonders if Evangeline is the Guardian’s daughter. Zavier’s arrival in Treow causes a commotion, sending Evangeline running toward the entrance of town. Odessa follows to greet her husband and overhears Evangeline call Zavier her father.