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Rites of the Starling Chapters 34–44 Summary
This Devney Perry Rites of the Starling chapter summary contains full spoilers.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 34
Odessa notices her father put their party in the west wing, far from the royal family and important guests. It feels deliberate. After Evie falls asleep, Odessa joins Ransom at the window.
She tells him it felt suspicious that her father showed no surprise upon learning Ransom’s true identity. Ransom argues the king is probably just skilled at hiding his feelings.
Odessa and Ransom discuss the growing crisis. King Ramsey hasn’t warned neighboring kingdoms about the migration, which means thousands will likely be caught off guard. Odessa is also troubled that her father seems unaware of the crux scout and that the nobles were celebrating instead of preparing for an attack.
Ransom then admits something he’s been holding back. He isn’t convinced the monster they encountered was actually a scout. A true migration would’ve brought other creatures with it, which means they may have more time than they thought.
Determined, Ransom plans to head to Allesaria to confront his father and end the Lyssa experiments. Ransom tries to convince Odessa to stay behind in Perris, but she refuses. They agree to finish the conversation in the morning.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 35
Caspia has been in a dark place for eleven days since finding out about the betrothal. She spends almost all her time at the castle library searching for a way back to her continent with little success. She and Andreas have grown cold and barely spoken.
One morning, Andreas brings Caspia a message from Faxon, saying he has found someone who might be able to help. Andreas warns Caspia not to be frightened by the man’s appearance before leading her to the library.
Caspia and Andreas find Kos there, watching books glide through the air on their own. A priest in deep red robes then walks out from between the shelves. The moment the priest comes into view, a wave of intense heat and pain moves through Caspia’s body.
Andreas introduces the priest as Brother Nold. Caspia recognizes Brother Nold as a member of the Velvi’os-telfer, a race that people in Kenn believe to be a myth because the Beesans tried to destroy them long ago. Caspia cannot understand how one of the Velvi’os‑telfer survived and ended up in Calandra.
The agony becomes too much, and Caspia starts to fall. Brother Nold reaches Caspia before Andreas can, and the moment Brother Nold touches her, Caspia screams and loses consciousness.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 36
Odessa is jolted awake by Evie’s screams. Mae has broken into the suite to steal Faze, but Evie bit her on the leg to protect the pet. Odessa defuses the situation right before a servant arrives to take Odessa, Evie, and Ransom to breakfast with the queen.
Breakfast with Odessa’s stepmother Margot is formal and cold. Through the window, Odessa spots her younger brother Arthy in the garden with a colorful kite and a black puppy he names Titus. Both match descriptions from Luella’s journal perfectly, and the sight shakes Odessa.
General Hawksley then tells Odessa she has to see her father alone. Before that, Odessa has a brief but emotional reunion with Arthy and her former nursemaid Nathalia.
The king gets straight to the point and asks if Odessa found the hidden road to Allesaria. Odessa says no, warns the king about the crux scout and the coming migration, and asks for access to the royal healers to work on a cure for the Lyssa plague.
Odessa’s father agrees to grant access to the healers, but he refuses to explain why he wanted Ransom dead or how Allesaria is meant to stop the migration. When Odessa presses further, her father tells her flat out that he’ll never trust her with the full story.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 37
Caspia collapses in the library and wakes to Andreas arguing with Brother Nold. Andreas blames the priest for Caspia’s condition, but Brother Nold denies responsibility. Caspia tells Andreas that the priest’s magic causes her physical agony and asks Andreas to keep Brother Nold at a distance.
She still needs answers, though. Faxon solves this with the library’s layout, putting Caspia and Andreas on one balcony and the priest on the opposite side. The distance makes the pain bearable.
The Voster fled to Calandra centuries ago during conflicts in Kenn, making the crossing only because three Starling ancestors guided them. Two were permanently trapped in their animal forms, while the third escaped as a bird. Caspia concludes this tragedy likely sparked the laws back home banning travel to Calandra, and she believes those ancestors also redirected the crux migration to this continent.
Brother Nold confirms the crux had no presence in Calandra before the Voster arrived. He explains that Caspia’s suffering comes from being a Starling in a place her kind was never meant to go. He warns her to leave, then disappears into the library. Caspia watches him go, certain she will never see him again.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 38
Caspia wakes from a haunting vision in which she turns into a beast and slaughters everyone around her, even Andreas, despite his pleas for mercy. The vision convinces Caspia that staying in Calandra puts Andreas in danger, so she decides to leave. Andreas finds her on the balcony and knows she is ready to say goodbye. He tells Caspia that a ship in the harbor belongs to his family and that the captain can be trusted to get her home safely.
That night, Caspia and Andreas share one final moment together. Before sunrise, she slips away, leaves a goodbye note for Kos, and takes Andreas’s coat to keep something of him close. At the docks, the captain agrees to sail for her home continent, but the ritus has gone silent. Without the ritus, Caspia cannot navigate the ocean and cannot bring herself to board.
Andreas arrives just as Caspia stands frozen. He begs her not to leave and says the obstacles between them no longer matter. Caspia agrees to stay and vows to remain by his side for the rest of her life.
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Rites of the Starling Chapter 39
Odessa retreats to her favorite cliffside after a frustrating meeting with her father. Ransom finds her, and Odessa tells him she wants to head to Perris before the migration begins.
Ransom brings some relief with a letter from Cathlin confirming that Zavier survived the battle and is traveling to Quentis with Cathlin to reunite with Evie. Odessa and Ransom decide to wait, though the journey will take about a week.
Odessa persuades Ransom to let her work with the royal healers on a cure for the Lyssa plague. Ransom is skeptical but gives Odessa a blood sample. They agree to tell the healers the sample came from a diseased creature to protect Ransom’s secret.
In the infirmary, the previous head healer is gone, and Odessa meets Alore, a talented healer from Laine who matches a description in Luella’s journal. Odessa trusts Alore enough to share everything about the infection, Ransom’s condition, and King Ramsey’s failed experiments. She then leaves Alore with the blood sample and the journals.
On her way back, Odessa stops in a gallery of crux art. Brother Dime finds her and tells her that magic is a balance between a person’s purpose and the results of their actions. He says she should stay in Quentis and hints that the gallery holds the answers she’s looking for.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 40
Eight days have passed since the Malynn sailed without Caspia. Andreas has been caught up in castle meetings, leaving Caspia with plenty of time to work alone in the library.
Caspia has decided to start a journal to document her world and culture for any future Starlings in Calandra, so they know their origins and what to expect on this continent.
Faxon brings a stack of books on Calandran history and past migrations. One called Sonnet’s Ninety tells of a gladiator who survived a migration by pacifying the crux with stories. After they discuss the books, Faxon asks for Caspia’s blessing to adopt Kos. Caspia gives it immediately.
While sorting through the material, Caspia cuts her finger on a page and freezes. Her blood runs dark green. The magic of Calandra is changing her physically, and she wonders if the same transformation once happened to the Voster when they arrived from Kenn.
Andreas stops by for a quick visit, and he and Caspia agree to go through the books together that evening. Shortly after, Kos comes running in, swallowed up by a librarian’s robe made for an adult.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 41
Odessa wakes up to find a jar of brown hair dye in her room. The message from Margot is obvious. She wants Odessa to hide her identity. With a closet full of nothing but gray gowns and no invitation to eat with the family, it’s clear Margot doesn’t actually want her there. Instead of following Margot’s rules, Odessa sells her knives and buys her own practical clothes.
Later, Odessa heads to the training center where Ransom is teaching Evie swordplay. Odessa joins in and holds her own, though Ransom eventually knocks her down and pins her.
Afterward, a weapons master named Gable tells Odessa he always believed she had inherited some of her mother’s natural talent with a blade. That stops her cold. Odessa never knew her mother was a skilled swordswoman, and no one in the castle ever speaks of her. When Gable offers to personally train her, she accepts without hesitation.
The sudden arrival of her father ends the moment, his gaze locking on Gable. By the time Odessa turns back around, Gable is already gone.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 42
Caspia finishes her journals, recording the history of her people and everything she learned in Calandra. She leaves one copy with Faxon and keeps the second, confident because she once had a vision of Kos finding Faxon’s book far in the future.
On her way out, Caspia has a tense run‑in with Malynn, the mother of Andreas. The encounter is brief and ice‑cold. Malynn looks Caspia over with open disapproval, says Caspia is going to be trouble, and leaves without asking her name.
That evening, Andreas finds Caspia on the balcony. His arranged marriage has been called off. The woman he was meant to marry had fallen in love with someone else. In the middle of a rainstorm, Andreas drops to one knee and proposes. Caspia says yes.
Andreas offers to help Caspia seek justice for her sister and suggests going after Xandra or the man with silver eyes. Caspia turns him down. She no longer wants revenge; she would rather uncover the truth about her mother’s disappearance, a mystery she believes is tied to the secrets of Calandra.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 43
Ransom thrashes through a violent nightmare and accidentally attacks Odessa when she tries to wake him. He pins her wrists to the bed before realizing who she is. Shaken by his own aggression, Ransom offers to sleep in another room, but Odessa convinces him to stay. By morning, he’s already gone.
Summoned to meet with her father, Odessa listens as the king tells her that Ransom broke a guard’s arm over some disrespectful remarks, warns Odessa he won’t tolerate it, and tries to dismiss her.
Odessa refuses to leave. She defies her father’s order to stay away from Gable and demands the truth about her mother. When her father won’t answer, Odessa asks directly if he was responsible for her mother’s death. He doesn’t deny it, which deepens her suspicions.
Odessa refuses to relent, pressing her father about his plans for Allesaria. The king admits that he’s willing to destroy the Voster to end the migrations. The exchange takes a sharp turn when Odessa reveals she can physically sense Voster magic. It’s the first time she has ever seen her father lose his composure. He orders Odessa to stay away from the Voster and walks out without another word.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 44
Caspia slips into the library after dodging Chapman Leek, a journalist asking her for proof that she and Andreas are married. Caspia and Andreas wed in a private ceremony the morning after he proposed and paid the cleric to be discreet, but the secret is already leaking out.
Inside, Faxon gives Caspia a copy of Sonnet’s Ninety. Caspia shares her theory that the stories aren’t folklore but hidden accounts of real history. Since no written records of Calandra exist before the first migration, she suspects the earlier history was deliberately destroyed.
Their conversation is interrupted by an unfamiliar Voster priest. His magical presence hits Caspia like a wave of pain before it fades, as if the priest pulls the magic back into himself. He hands Caspia an old, damaged book, motions for her to stay silent, and leaves.
Caspia opens the book and feels a sharp jolt of pain as her hand touches the first page. The next page is written in her native language. Faxon offers to translate, but she stops him. She can already read it. The opening inscription is a direct message meant for the Starling.