Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry Book Summary

TROPE GUIDE: Dangerous Journey | Monsters and Magic | Sacrifice for Love | Secrets and Betrayal | Separated Lovers

QUICK LINKS: Rites of the Starling Recap by Chapter 9–20 | 21–30 | 31–40 | 41–51 | 52–59 | 60–64 // Shield of Sparrows Book 1 Summary

Disclaimer: This is a Rites of the Starling summary. The original work is the property of Devney Perry and Entangled: Red Tower Books.

Rites of the Starling Chapter Summary

This Devney Perry Rites of the Starling chapter summary contains spoilers.

Rites of the Starling Prologue

Five kings gather in a dark underground cellar to finalize a peace treaty called the Shield of Sparrows. Sparrow believes she’s there to witness the proceedings, but she’s actually the bargaining chip. The kings agree that a marriage alliance is the only way to make the peace hold and sign the document in their own blood. Her father is last, giving her a look full of regret before he puts his name down.

A Voster High Priest seals the oaths with magic, then calls Sparrow forward. She agrees to the terms and signs beside King Tanis Oak by cutting her palm, binding herself to the only unmarried king in the room. Tanis says his vow and walks out without a glance in her direction. The others follow shortly after.

Alone with her father, Sparrow breaks down. She tells him she’ll never worship their gods again or trust the Voster priests. He apologizes and pulls her into a hug. When she asks how she’s supposed to face what comes next, he tells her to stay courageous and strong.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 1

Ransom arrives at the forest camp at Treow to find it completely empty. He whistles for his wife but gets no answer. Cathlin, who followed him from Ellder out of worry, tells him she found two of Odessa‘s knives in the street, both covered in blood. The thought of Odessa out in the woods without any weapons unsettles him.

Mariette, the last villager to stay behind, emerges from the trees and explains what happened. The king showed up with about twenty men before midday, warned everyone about a crux scout in the area, and convinced them to move toward Allesaria. She never saw Odessa or Evie among them.

Ransom sends Cathlin back to Ellder to pay the guards for their silence and watch Zavier closely. He heads toward Quentis instead of following the king, suspecting Odessa would look for somewhere to hide Evie where his father could never find them.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 2

Odessa and Evie have been on the run for five days with two Voster priests, Brother Dime and Brother Skore. They stop to rest by a lake in the Turan wilderness. Odessa is barely holding it together, clinging to the belief that Ransom is alive and searching for her. 

When Brother Dime says it’s time to move, Odessa resists and demands to know where they’re going. The answer is Ozarth, and she refuses. She wants to head south to the coast and sail for Quentis, convinced that’s where Ransom will look first. Brother Dime won’t budge.

Odessa threatens to leave on her own, but the look the two priests exchange turns her stomach. It hits her that Ransom might not be waiting at their original meeting point. Brother Dime admits he doesn’t know what happened to Ransom but says their paths have to split. Brother Dime made a promise to Odessa’s father to keep her safe, and Turah is no longer safe for her. He tells Odessa the journey is about uncovering the truth behind her family’s bloodline.

Brother Dime then suggests Evie could ride with him instead. Odessa takes it as a threat. She’s cornered and can’t fight two priests with magic, so she gives in. Brother Skore drives the point home with a sudden blast of wind that nearly knocks her off her feet. 

The group rides east toward Ozarth.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 3

Caspia has had the same vision six times. A man with silver eyes murders her sister Emery. Caspia’s cousin Xandra encourages her to mention the vision to their aunt, Queen Oleana, since Emery’s young daughter deserves to know the truth. Caspia is reluctant because the Queen has dismissed her visions for years, but she gives in.

They find Oleana in the mews where the giant swifts are kept. The moment Caspia brings up her vision, Oleana shuts her down and calls Emery a runaway who disobeyed orders and left with a man. Caspia tries to push back, but Oleana snaps at her to stop and dismisses the visions as bad dreams. Before leaving, Oleana mentions a rival king causing trouble at the border and says the family needs to stay united.

After Oleana leaves, Caspia walks to the ocean and feels a strange pull toward the water. She recognizes it as the beginning of her ritus and knows her future lies somewhere across the sea. She keeps this to herself, but Xandra can tell something significant is coming.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 4

Odessa is miserable, exhausted from riding through the mountains at night with no patience left for the two priests. She tries to stay hopeful about Ransom, but Evie wakes from a nightmare in tears. Odessa stops to comfort her and ignores the priests when they tell the girls to keep moving. When a grizzur roars nearby, the group bolts. Only then does Odessa realize Brother Skore’s wind magic wasn’t him being difficult. He was masking their scent from the creature.

They reach a cabin belonging to a couple named Damon andSally. The priests know them, and the couple welcomes the group in. After a bath and clean clothes, Odessa and Evie eat while the priests sleep in the barn.

At dinner, Odessa notices a black claw necklace Damon is wearing from a beast called a lionwick. He says it has healing powers and has kept his family strong. The story triggers a memory of Luella mentioning this tale in connection with a secret journal that Odessa has in her bag. 

Once Evie is asleep, Odessa pulls the journal out and finds it written in an ancient language. She decides to learn to read it, convinced it might hold a cure for the Lyssa sickness.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 5

Caspia is a princess without shapeshifting powers yet, known as a Quiescent. One night, she sneaks out of the palace to board a ship, pulled by a deep spiritual instinct that this journey will trigger her transformation into a Starling. 

Before she goes, Caspia writes letters to her aunt Oleana, her cousin Xandra, and her niece Graciella.

Caspia borrows her sister Emery’s elfalter rings to get past the guards. The rings signal high status and a completed transformation, and a sentry lets Caspia through without question.

At the harbor, Caspia pays the pirate captain she hired with several elfalter armbands. Just as she steps aboard, she hears a scream from the palace and spots Queen Oleana in bird form flying above the mews. Caspia doesn’t turn back. As the ship heads out to sea, she promises to find the truth and get justice for her sister.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 6

Odessa jolts awake from a nightmare about Brielle and reaches for her satchel to steady herself. Inside are books Odessa managed to save. One has Luella’s recipes for a life-saving elixir, another holds notes on potential cures for Lyssa, a third is written in an ancient language, and the last is her own book of sketches. Odessa’s most valuable item is a leather cuff Ransom made for her, which hides a map to the secret capital of Allesaria.

Evie wakes up refusing to change out of the dirty shirt she wore when her father died. Odessa forces her into clean clothes, and Evie breaks down sobbing. It makes Odessa feel like she’s failing her. Sally steps in and offers to soak the stained clothes and clean Evie’s stuffed rabbit, Merry.

Brother Dime interrupts to say he’s leaving to see the High Priest and that Brother Skore will guide them to Quentis. Odessa tries to get straight answers about Ransom and why the High Priest is interested in her mother, but Brother Dime dodges every question. He only promises Skore will teach Odessa the ancient language along the way.

After Brother Dime rides off, Brother Skore sneaks up on Odessa without her sensing him at all. Brother Dime’s presence always felt like a prickle on her skin, so Brother Skore’s silence makes her wonder if he’s weaker than the other priests. That thought gives Odessa hope. She starts planning a detour to Perris to find a ship and go looking for Ransom herself.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 7

Caspia is sailing away from Nelfinex, following a pull she believes is a divine call across the ocean. She hired a pirate captain named Cap for the trip. Cap is the brother of the man her sister Emery ran away with, so Caspia hopes he might know where the couple went.

The journey is interrupted when the crew catches a stowaway. It’s Caspia’s cousin Xandra. The captain makes Xandra hand over her armbands to pay for her passage. Caspia is relieved but uneasy since the ritus is traditionally supposed to be done alone.

The cousins open up about why they’re really out there. Caspia keeps seeing a vision of a silver-eyed warrior killing Emery and is determined to find the truth and get justice. Xandra admits she hasn’t felt her own ritus yet but joins anyway. They agree to face whatever comes as a team.

Their conversation is cut short when two massive marroweels surface next to the boat. The sailors grab their weapons, but Caspia and Xandra simply reach out and touch the beasts. The creatures respond like friendly pets. The stunned crew takes it as confirmation that both women carry Starling blood.

Rites of the Starling Chapter 8

Odessa practices the ancient language with Brother Skore as they travel and uses the lessons to translate Luella’s journals. One entry describes a red-haired woman leaving her lover at a cliffside. Odessa and Evie talk about Luella along the way, which reminds Odessa of the secrets she’s keeping. She hasn’t told Evie that Luella is dead or that her biological father is actually the king she hates.

Their journey takes a turn when they find an elderly woman bitten by a snake. The woman performs a painful ritual that Odessa recognizes from the journals. Brother Skore steps in and uses ice magic to soothe the injury. Odessa is surprised since she thought only the High Priest could use that ability.

The moment is cut short when five bariwolves start hunting them. The creatures drive the group to the edge of a cliff. Odessa pulls Evie close and prepares to die. Then Brother Skore stretches out his arms and pulls the blood directly out of the wolves’ bodies. The creatures collapse as their blood floats toward him.

The blood is green. It confirms the Lyssa infection has crossed the border into Ozarth and is spreading faster than anyone feared. Odessa is left shaken and even more suspicious of Brother Skore.