Shield of Sparrows

The High Priest arrives in Treow to inspect the infected tarkin. Odessa tries to avoid how uncomfortable the Voster’s magic makes her feel. Later, Odessa passes the infirmary and witnesses the Voster using his magic on the Guardian. The magic causes the Guardian so much pain that tears leak from his eyes. Odessa then reunites with Brielle and Jocelyn, who have no news about Allesaria. They bring Evie and Odessa dinner in the treehouse. Evie is rattled by the afternoon’s attacks but tells Odessa animatedly that she hopes to have a pet monster someday to protect her from sick monsters.

After Evie falls asleep, Odessa goes out to her balcony and finds the Guardian on his own. She asks about his well-being and mentions seeing him in the infirmary earlier. He admits that the Voster was siphoning the Lyssa from his blood. While it’s not a cure, it’s a temporary reprieve. He also reveals that the High Priest has been studying the infection and has discovered that someone likely created it. Odessa asks the Guardian for his real name, but he again declines to tell her. However, when she pleads with him not to shut her out and to allow her to help him when he needs it, he begrudgingly agrees.

Odessa tracks the Guardian as he leaves Treow. He easily hears her following him, but instead of forcing her to turn back, he allows her to accompany him. His scouting parties found a tarkin den in the area that he’s going to inspect. On the way to the den, Odessa asks more questions about Lyssa, which leads to an uncomfortable conversation in which the Guardian reveals that he cannot transmit the disease through bodily fluids. He has proof of this, as the women he’s been with sexually have not contracted the illness.

When they arrive at the den, they find a group of tarkin pups left behind. All but one are dead. Before the Guardian can kill the remaining one, Odessa scoops it up and claims it as a pet. Though the Guardian is vehemently opposed, he relents after nicking its leg to ensure it bleeds red. The Guardian makes Odessa vow to kill him if he ever slips beyond saving. When she agrees, he gives her his name: Ransom.

Odessa spends the next four days nursing the baby tarkin, which Evie names Faze. Evie, Brielle, and Jocelyn have all been sent to Ellder, but Ransom and Odessa have remained behind. Ransom invites Odessa to accompany him to the nearby village of Ravalli, which has endured a recent lionwick attack. Odessa accepts but insists on bringing Faze with them, much to Ransom’s annoyance. As they travel, Odessa asks Ransom if others have also sworn to kill him if needed. He says they have, but Odessa can’t fathom a reality without Ransom in it; he’s become so ingrained in her life that she is reluctant to let him go. He’s clearly given up on a cure, but she won’t.

Ransom and Odessa stop at the inn in Ravalli, and he books them two separate rooms. They then visit the forge, where Ransom introduces Odessa as the Sparrow to pique the smith’s interest and get him talking. The man reveals that it took six men to kill the lionwick that attacked the town. He points them toward the new paperman (news publisher) in town, whose arm was injured in the battle. The paperman is supposedly from Quentis, which makes Odessa more curious.

She and Ransom travel to the Ravalli Paper building, where they meet the paperman and his son, Jonas. Jonas animatedly tells them about the attack, and the paperman’s account of the beast’s milky eyes and green blood informs Odessa and Ransom that it had Lyssa. When the man introduces himself as Samuel Hay, Odessa recognizes him as the man who wrote the scathing novel about Quentis that she borrowed from Cathlin in Treow.

Ransom leaves to gather more information from around town while Odessa stays behind to question Samuel further. Jonas plays with Faze as Samuel informs Odessa about his past. His parents were Quentin traders, and he fell in love with the daughter of his family’s biggest rival. The woman, Emsley, became his wife and fell pregnant with Jonas once they left Quentis. Samuel sold stories to papermen to fund their journeys until they returned to Roslo, Quentis, to care for Emsley’s ailing mother. There, a cutpurse murdered Emsley. Fueled by grief and anger, Samuel wrote a scathing book about Quentis, including unfounded rumors about Odessa’s father that he knew would sell copies. This funded his and Jonas’s travel to Turah, where they have made a home.

Samuel reveals that he is suspicious of the king’s militia here in Turah. No soldiers have written or visited home since joining. Samuel also reveals what he knows of Allesaria; the city exists, but only those who swear a blood oath to keep its location a secret are allowed to enter. Odessa wonders what could be hidden in that city to require all visitors to make a blood oath. After Ransom comes to collect her, she attempts to broach the subject by suggesting that Lyssa could have originated in the capital city, but Ransom becomes closed off and rejects the possibility.

Before Ransom and Odessa can leave town the next morning, King Ramsey and his militia arrive. They surround the pair, trapping them in a confrontation with Ramsey. Ramsey realizes that Odessa is the Sparrow and tells Ransom that she should be in Allesaria. When Ransom claims she can’t yet be trusted, Odessa is hurt. Nevertheless, she trusts Ransom and has decided that she will not betray him or the Turans.

Ramsey burns Samuel Hay’s shop and home, but Ransom saves the man from the building. As Ramsey turns to leave town, Odessa loudly calls him a coward for burning books and people’s homes. He states that his spies told him that she was weak but apparently were mistaken. Ramsey then gives Ransom a mysterious one-month deadline before leaving.

Ransom and Odessa travel back to Ellder, bringing Samuel Hay and his son with them. Ransom tells Odessa the story behind Banner’s brother’s death; Ransom killed the man when he discovered that he was kidnapping women to sell them. When Odessa asks about Ramsey’s ultimatum, Ransom claims that Ramsey wants him to return to Allesaria and act as his general. Odessa notices new marks on Ransom’s cuff and realizes that they mark the monsters he’s killed—and where. Maps are illegal in Turah to protect inhabitants from invaders, so Ransom’s cuff is dangerous.

At Ellder fortress, Odessa discovers Zavier in the hall outside his apartment. He is having intimate relations with her lady’s maid, Jocelyn. Though Odessa is inwardly relieved because she loves Ransom instead, she feels upset and betrayed by his disloyalty.

Odessa flees the scene, catching the attention of Ransom, who is nearby. After learning what happened from Zavier, Ransom visits Odessa’s quarters and admits that Odessa is not married to Zavier. He reveals that he saw her on the cliffside when he arrived in Quentis and decided that she would be the princess that he married after watching her jump. He shows her the scar on his palm left from letting the blood that Zavier used to sign the treaty. Ransom spoke the vows, and though Zavier stood in his place, Ransom is Odessa’s bound husband. Odessa realizes that Ransom is also the prince. However, Ransom states that Lyssa will kill him soon and that once it does, she will have the freedom she’s always desired.

The next morning, Jocelyn visits Odessa’s room to beg for forgiveness. Though Odessa wanted them to become friends, she cannot overlook Jocelyn’s betrayal. While she is not angry, she is distrustful. When Jocelyn blames homesickness for her poor decisions, Odessa receives permission from Ransom to send Jocelyn home and tells Jocelyn to inform her father that Odessa has failed in her mission: There is no way into Allesaria oh which she knows.

Odessa visits the training arena, where she finds Ransom and Zavier sparring. Odessa asks Zavier for his real name, which he reveals is Dray. When Zavier leaves them, Odessa trains viciously with Ransom. She lashes out with all her anger while demanding the truth from him. Ransom states that his name is Zavier Ransom Wolfe, though he’s always gone by Ransom. Dray is his cousin and has been acting as his political body double for 11 years; there are very few people who know Ransom is the true prince. Because Ransom will die of Lyssa, it is more practical for Zavier to keep up the charade past his death. Odessa’s anger shifts to sadness at the possibility that Ransom might die before she’s ever truly had him. Though she’s angry about all his lies, she allows him to kiss her passionately.

A week passes following Odessa and Ransom’s kiss. She visits Samuel Hay and informs him that she’s secretly been drawing a map of Turah. Though it is a massive risk to aid a crime punishable by death, Samuel agrees to help her fill in the blanks and correct potential errors.

The High Priest is entertaining children with his magic in the courtyard when Odessa emerges from Samuel’s home. Still distrustful of the Voster and their strange magic, Odessa keeps her distance. Ransom has just had his Lyssa siphoned by the High Priest and asks Odessa to keep him company on a walk meant to clear his mind. In the private streets of Ellder, he grabs her hand and laces his fingers through hers. When Odessa mentions her suspicions about the Voster, Ransom claims to trust them fully. He doesn’t believe that they are involved with the creation of Lyssa. Ransom also tells Odessa that Evie is his sister. Though she is not Zavier’s daughter by blood, he has raised her as his own while Ransom’s mother is in hiding from Ramsey.

Ransom tells Odessa that while Ramsey loved his mother, she never reciprocated. When he caught her having an affair with another man, Ramsey killed the man and attempted to kill his mother, too. She only survived because Ransom knocked Ramsey unconscious with the hilt of a blade. In the years since, his mother has been in hiding. When Odessa asks if she’s met Ransom’s mother before, he doesn’t answer.

Ransom tells Odessa that he believes her father has discovered a way to break the Shield of Sparrows—by killing the Voster and breaking their magic bonds. Odessa claims it’s impossible because no one knows where the Voster reside. Ransom’s ensuing silence prompts Odessa to wonder if they live in Allesaria.

Ransom kisses Odessa again, but nearby screams interrupt them. They race back to the courtyard, which a large pack of bariwolves has invaded. Ransom, the High Priest, and the Turan warriors fight to defend Ellder, but many die. When Odessa tries to save a young boy, the one-eyed bariwolf that she believes infected Ransom kills him before she can reach him. It then orders the rest of its pack to chase her, buying itself time to escape. The High Priest uses his magic to defend Odessa against the bariwolves until they’re all dispatched.