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Rites of the Starling Chapters 45–55 Summary
This Devney Perry Rites of the Starling chapter summary contains full spoilers.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 45
Odessa spends the afternoon in the art gallery, reading and drawing. At one point, she deliberately tears the edges off a sketch of Faze, destroying a hidden map of the secret path to Allesaria.
Margot finds Odessa there and, in a rare moment of openness, shares her difficult past. Margot grew up in poverty after her father died, and during the last migration, a thief broke in and killed her mother. To survive, Margot took over her mother’s job in the castle and worked her way up.
The conversation turns to Odessa’s mother. Margot reveals that the king’s cold behavior isn’t punishment but grief. He lost his spirit when his wife died. Margot also admits that Odessa’s hair is a constant reminder of her mother, which is why she wanted it dyed.
General Hawksley suddenly walks in and calls Margot by a romantic pet name, clearly expecting to find her alone. Odessa realizes Margot and Hawksley are having an affair and promises to keep the secret. Margot suggests that while their family secrets are dangerous, they might also be what keeps them alive.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 46
Caspia has a vivid vision of a royal dinner where she uses the wrong utensil and Malynn publicly shames her. Fearing the actual gala, Caspia hides in a small parlor to study a guide on local manners. Andreas tracks her down, sees her terror of humiliating him, throws the book into the fireplace, and promises to guide her through the event himself.
To shield Caspia from his mother, Andreas secures a private, locked carrel in the library. Faxon gives Caspia the key, and the small, secluded room is exactly what she needs.
Settled in, Caspia tells Andreas she wants to contact the Voster priest who gave her the mysterious gray volume. She has studied it multiple times and believes it holds a secret that could help save Xandra. The book tells a grim story about six men at a mountain monastery who survived a brutal winter by making a deal with demons and gained power over the entire continent. Caspia thinks the number six is a significant clue, though Andreas warns her that digging into these old truths could be dangerous.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 47
Odessa and Ransom visit Healer Alore, who has already brewed a version of Luella’s elixir. Alore’s next step is to recreate the disease to test potential cures. She believes the infection started when the elixir interacted with monster saliva, so she asks Ransom for a sample alongside saliva taken from Faze earlier. Ransom feels uncomfortable but agrees, and Alore begins testing the combination on rats.
Back at the training center, Odessa finds Mae sparring with Evie using live steel. Mae slices a hole in Evie’s favorite shirt, sending Evie into angry tears. Odessa steps in, but Mae stays hostile and tries to start a fight. When Ransom arrives, Mae pulls a hidden knife from her sleeve and throws it at him. Ransom catches it mid-air and throws it back so it sticks to the wall beside Mae’s head.
The room clears, and Mae finally breaks. She confesses she was meant to be the Sparrow and leave Quentis, then runs off. Barely holding himself together, Ransom tells Odessa to take Evie away for her safety. Odessa refuses and takes his hand instead. The three of them stand together, and Odessa notices her father watching silently from the doorway.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 48
The unnamed Voster priest enters Caspia’s workspace and works to contain his magical energy so Caspia doesn’t feel pain. He tells her they must avoid further correspondence and explains that this room is the only safe place to speak.
Caspia believes the continent is under a curse created by the six magicians in the ancient book. She thinks this explains the starbursts in people’s eyes and why her people lose their sanity when they transform. The priest doesn’t confirm it, but his reactions suggest she’s close to the truth.
The priest is one of the original refugees who traveled from Kenn alongside Caspia’s ancestors hundreds of years ago. He speaks bitterly about the family he lost in the war with Beesa and hints at feeling disconnected from his fellow priests. Bound by strict oaths, the priest gave Caspia the gray book to communicate the truth without breaking his word.
Before leaving, the priest tells Caspia she’s nearing the end of her life and promises they’ll meet one more time before she dies. He warns Caspia to keep her secrets hidden and never speak of their meetings, then reveals that his name is Hain.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 49
After settling Evie, Odessa finds Ransom at the window, watching for Zavier and Cathlin. Ransom tells Odessa the castle walls make him feel trapped and confesses he’s struggling to stay in control, reminding her how close he came to snapping Mae’s neck. Odessa tells Ransom that Alore is still working on a treatment and that there’s hope.
Ransom shares small memories of his mother, then asks Odessa to promise that if the infection takes his life, Evie will learn the truth about Luella. Odessa agrees, though the conversation leaves Odessa uneasy.
Odessa tells Ransom she loves him. His reply is a reminder to hold onto that, not a return of the words. The response stings. They spend the night together, and by morning, the silver in Ransom’s eyes has faded back to green. The change gives Odessa a small sense that the Lyssa may be loosening its grip.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 50
Hain arrives at Caspia’s workspace in a frail state. He has drained his magical energy on purpose so Caspia won’t feel pain, but the effort has left him with little time remaining.
Caspia uses careful questions to help Hain speak without breaking his oaths. The six magicians were real, and a Starling warrior once defeated them. Their ashes were sealed in glass containers, but dark magic leaked out and poisoned the land. This curse drove the Starlings to flee to Nelfinex and later inspired legends that cast the magicians as gods.
Hain believes that shattering the containers will break the curse, end the migrations, and free Xandra. The cost, however, is that destroying them would strip the Voster of their powers. Only a Starling can find the containers, since Caspia’s ancestors chose the hiding spots. Hain warns that the other Voster will fight to protect their magic and insists the only one Caspia can trust is Brother Nold.
As his strength gives out, Hain tells Caspia that the responsibility now falls on her, says his final goodbye, and leaves. The moment he disappears, the unnatural wind outside goes completely still.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 51
Odessa checks on Ransom while he’s in the bath and finds him asleep. After they talk, Odessa leaves and overhears an argument between Margot and the king. Margot pleads with her husband to tell Odessa the truth before it’s too late, but he won’t budge. When Margot catches Odessa listening, she stays vague and only says that Mae is in a bad way.
Determined to help Ransom, Odessa confronts her father and demands to know where she can find Brother Dime. The king lies twice, claiming ignorance. Odessa tells him he was never the man she believed, then searches the castle on her own.
Odessa spots someone in pale blue robes and chases the figure through the halls, but she loses the trail. Out in the gardens, she finds Ransom in a heated standoff. Ransom broke a guard’s nose after the man tried to steal Faze.
Things get worse when Odessa notices Brother Skore watching from a window, and she tries to reach him. Ransom pulls Odessa and Evie aside and warns them that Brother Skore belongs to the Kennin, a group of dangerous radicals considered traitors to their order. Odessa realizes their lives are in far greater danger than she imagined.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 52
Caspia wakes from a haunting vision of Hain praying in Nelfinex on a cliffside just before his execution. She tells Andreas the vision felt certain and unavoidable, and that Hain used plural language in his prayers. Caspia takes this as proof that Hain knew about Xandra all along.
Driven by the certainty of Hain’s death, Caspia decides to find and destroy the hidden magician orbits, convinced it’s the only way to lift the curse on Calandra and end the migrations for good. Andreas tries to talk Caspia out of it but eventually gives in and insists on coming with her.
In their discussion, Caspia and Andreas consider where the orbits might be hidden. Caspia believes the Starling ancestors buried them deep in the earth. Andreas suggests a few locations, such as the Evon Ravine, the deep mines in Laine, a waterfall in Ozarth, and sea caves in Genesis.
Caspia wonders if the cave she and Xandra found when they first arrived was near one of the orbits, since that would explain why they both became so sick. Together, Caspia and Andreas decide to begin their search at the Evon Ravine.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 53
Caspia and Andreas leave Roslo with a large team for a five-day journey to the Evon Ravine. Caspia feels suffocated in the stuffy carriage and insists on getting out to walk during a break.
The quiet moment ends when a riderless horse with a bloody neck charges out from the trees. A soldier shouts that lionwicks are nearby. Caspia and Andreas scramble back toward the carriage through the thick grass. One beast lunges at them. Andreas kills the beast with his crossbow, but another strikes him across the chest with its barbed tail. Caspia grabs Andreas’s sword and kills the second beast herself.
The healer confirms Andreas will survive, but one soldier didn’t make it. Caspia wonders if the orbits are influencing the monsters and whether they’re targeting her because of her Starling blood. Another soldier notes that the lionwicks behaved strangely since they usually hunt from the trees.
Caspia looks at her hands, still covered in her husband’s blood, and refuses to wash them. She wants it there as a grim reminder of the risks they’re taking.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 54
Ransom leads Odessa and Evie back to their suite and explains that Brothers Skore and Dime belong to the Kennin, a radical group that believes magic users alone are fit to lead. Ransom worries the High Priest will be furious if he learns the king has been protecting a traitor, and warns that Odessa’s father could face devastating consequences.
Odessa decides she can’t keep secrets anymore. She tells Ransom about her hidden journal, what she saw in the tunnels, and admits she’s been spending time with Brother Skore. They agree that the Voster order is their only real source of truth. Ransom heads to the docks to arrange a secret letter for the High Priest.
Later, Odessa takes Faze to the gardens before meeting her sister, but six drunk guards corner her. They want to steal Faze and sell him. Mae jumps in to help, but things turn ugly when one guard holds a knife to Odessa’s throat while the others attack Mae. Odessa stabs the guard in the neck.
Ransom arrives and loses control. He kills most of the attackers and keeps beating the last guard long after the man is dead. When Odessa tries to stop him, Ransom nearly strikes her. He sees that Odessa is bleeding and disappears into the darkness. Mae asks Odessa if she truly knows what kind of man her husband has become.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 55
Caspia and Andreas descend into the dark, glassy canyon of the Evon with a merchant named Seth Hay and a group of soldiers. When some men grow dizzy from the heights, Andreas sends them back to the surface.
At the bottom, Caspia feels the sting of magic and uses it to guide the group. Seth and a few guards stay behind with the horses while the rest continue on foot.
A giant bat-like creature called a chiroptus swoops down and kills Seth. Andreas wounds the creature, and the soldiers finish it off, but another attack claims a second soldier. The survivors learn to press flat against the canyon walls whenever they hear the chiroptuses chirping.
Caspia pushes forward despite the pain until the group reaches what looks like a dead end. She finds a tiny opening in the rock and slips through into a hidden tunnel. The magic is so strong it makes Caspia sick, but she refuses to stop.
On the other side, Caspia finds a waterfall and realizes the magic travels through the water. The orbit rests at the bottom of the pool. Andreas pulls it out. Relief overwhelms Caspia, and she passes out.