QUICK LINKS: Rites of the Starling Recap by Chapter P–8 | 9–20 | 21–30 | 31–40 | 41–51 | 60–64 // Shield of Sparrows Book 1 Summary
Rites of the Starling Chapters 52–59 Summary
This chapter-by-chapter summary of Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry contains spoilers.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 52
Caspia wakes from a vision of Hain kneeling at a cliffside in Nelfinex, bleeding and praying before being beheaded. She tells Andreas the vision feels inevitable and believes Hain’s plural prayers mean he knew about Xandra.
She decides to find and destroy the magicians’ orbits, convinced it’s the only way to lift Calandra’s curse, free Xandra, and end the migrations. Andreas objects, calling it too dangerous, but relents and insists on joining her.
Together, they consider where the orbits might be hidden. Caspia reasons the Starling of long ago would have buried them deep in the earth. Andreas suggests several possible sites, including the Evon Ravine on the border of Quentis and Genesis, a waterfall in Ozarth, mines in Laine, and sea caves in Genesis. Caspia wonders if the cave she and Xandra found when they first arrived was near one of the orbits, which might explain their sudden illness.
They agree to begin at the Evon Ravine.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 53
Caspia and Andreas leave Roslo with a large expedition bound for the Evon Ravine, a journey that will take five days. Caspia refuses to remain in the carriage and steps out during a stop.
Before the party can move on, a riderless horse bursts from the tree line, its neck torn open by deep gashes. A soldier shouts that lionwicks are nearby. Caspia and Andreas sprint toward the carriage through the tall grass. One lionwick lunges at Andreas, and he kills it with his crossbow. Another lashes its barbed tail across his chest before Caspia seizes his sword and beheads the creature herself.
The healer assures Caspia that Andreas’s wounds aren’t life‑threatening, though one soldier has been killed. Caspia wonders if destroying the orbits might alter the monsters’ behavior and whether the attack was random or tied to her being a Starling. A soldier remarks that the lionwicks charged straight at them instead of hunting as they usually do, deepening her suspicion.
Caspia stands over Andreas, his blood still on her hands. She chooses to leave it there as a reminder of what’s at stake.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 54
Ransom rushes Odessa and Evie back to their suite after discovering that Brothers Skore and Dime belong to the Kennin, a rogue Voster faction that believes magic users should rule the five kingdoms. Ransom warns Odessa that if the High Priest learns her father has been sheltering one of them, the consequences will be severe.
Odessa confides everything she has been hiding, including her journal written in the old language, Brother Dime’s warnings, the hidden tunnels, and her time with Brother Skore. She and Ransom agree that the Voster are their best chance for answers, and he heads to the docks to arrange a letter to the High Priest through a ranger in Perris.
When Ransom returns, Odessa goes to the gardens to let Faze out before meeting Mae. Six drunk guards ambush her, intent on stealing Faze and selling him. Mae appears and joins the fight, but the struggle turns against them. One guard presses a blade to Odessa’s throat while others pin Mae down and assault her. Odessa stabs the man under the chin, killing him.
Ransom arrives and tears through the attackers, beating the last guard to death with his fists even after the danger has passed.
When Odessa tries to stop Ransom, he whirls on her with his fist raised, silver flooding his eyes. He sees the cut on her throat, realizes what he has done, and vanishes into the night.
Mae asks whether Ransom is truly the man Odessa believes him to be.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 55
Caspia and Andreas descend into the Evon, a deep obsidian ravine, with a merchant named Seth Hay leading the way and a company of soldiers. When several soldiers suffer vertigo, Andreas sends them back up.
At the bottom, Caspia begins to feel the sting of magic and uses it to guide the group. Seth and a few soldiers remain behind with the horses while the others press deeper on foot.
Before long, a chiroptus, a massive blood‑drinking bat, drops Seth onto the rocks from above. Andreas wounds the creature, and the soldiers finish it off. A second chiroptus kills another soldier before it, too, is brought down. The survivors learn to press themselves flat against the ravine wall whenever they hear the creatures’ chirps.
Caspia pushes forward despite the growing pain until they reach what looks like a dead end. She spots a narrow gap in the rock and steps through to a passage beyond, where the magic strikes her so hard she vomits. She refuses to turn back.
On the other side, Caspia notices a waterfall and realizes the dark magic has been spreading through the water. At its base lies a pool with the orbit resting at the bottom. Andreas retrieves it. Caspia is overwhelmed by relief before she loses consciousness.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 56
Ransom never returns after the attack. Odessa spends the night waiting, then covers the cut on her neck with a scarf and takes Evie to see Alore, who has made no progress on a cure.
On their way back, they meet new arrivals in the foyer. Samuel Hay and his son Jonas have come, along with the healer Geezala, Cathlin, and Zavier. The reunion between Evie and Zavier is emotional. Odessa brings everyone to the suite and explains everything to Zavier and Cathlin.
Mae bursts in with news that their father has had Ransom arrested and locked in the barracks. Odessa decides it’s time to leave Quentis. Mae declares she wants to join them and hints that the Gold King may not truly be her father. Odessa doesn’t push her and simply reassures Mae that she is, and always will be, her sister.
Odessa confronts her father in the throne room. He claims Ransom is being held for killing guards and General Banner. Odessa insists she was the one who killed Banner and offers her wrists for arrest. He refuses and announces that Ransom will be exiled while Odessa remains in Quentis. She rejects the decree, accuses her father of orchestrating the provocations against Ransom all along, and walks out.
After bribing a guard to enter the barracks, Odessa finds Ransom in a cell, trembling with barely contained rage. Two bent bars show what it took to hold him. They share a quiet moment through the bars. Then Brother Skore appears, and despite everything, Odessa asks him to help Ransom. The Kennin priest begins drawing the Lyssa infection out of Ransom’s blood.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 57
Caspia wakes from a vision of four Voster priests storming a marble room where she and Andreas are waiting. The priests scatter to hunt them down, and Andreas’s dagger is deflected by magic. She doesn’t know when this will happen, but the vision haunts her for hours.
Andreas confirms that the orbit has been locked in his family’s vault. Caspia notices she may already be slightly less sensitive to magic, which suggests that removing the orbit from the water has begun to weaken the Voster’s power. Andreas gives her the only key and explains what had followed.
The soldiers believe they were searching for a historical relic, all received bonuses, and the families of those who died have been compensated.
Caspia also learns that Andreas carried both her and the orbit out of the ravine himself.
When Andreas tells Caspia she won’t be going after the remaining orbits alone, Caspia agrees without protest. They acknowledge they cannot find and destroy all the orbits before the migration deadline and decide they need help. Andreas outlines a plan to build a small circle of trusted allies, including a loyal soldier named Taven and Faxon, while working from Roslo to locate the others.
Andreas admits his faith has been shattered by the revelation that his gods don’t exist, and Caspia promises to teach him about the Divine. He cups her rounded belly, and the baby kicks, revealing that Caspia is pregnant.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 58
Brother Skore siphons the Lyssa infection from Ransom’s blood and leaves without a word. The dark veins vanish, and while Odessa knows this isn’t a cure, it buys them precious time. Ransom is exhausted but stable.
Odessa tells Ransom about her father’s plan to exile him and suggests they use it as cover to sail home in the morning. Ransom then reveals what he’s been holding back since Ellder.
The crux that attacked Ellder was a shapeshifter. After it died, its body changed into that of a woman with curly hair like Odessa’s. Ransom believes it came alone, possibly hunting one of them specifically, and had the body burned to stop rumors from spreading.
Odessa blames herself for Luella’s death, but Ransom refuses to let her carry the guilt. She raises the question of why shapeshifting crux have never been documented, and Ransom suggests this one simply took the crux form rather than being a true crux. He also confirms that Ramsey has retreated to Allesaria, leaving the other kingdoms uninformed about the migration.
Before they can process further, the bribed guard reappears with Queen Margot. Margot apologizes for the imprisonment but explains she cannot free Ransom since the king kept the key himself.
She produces a dark purple book and tells Odessa she had always hoped Odessa would never find the necklace she wears, but someone told her Odessa would discover it one day. Margot says she made a vow to protect Odessa, hands her the book, and instructs her to read it with Ransom before going to the king on the throne room balcony. She calls it Odessa’s dynasty.
Rites of the Starling Chapter 59
Caspia has a vision of her sister Emery arguing with their Aunt Oleana, who begs her not to leave in search of Caspia and Xandra. Emery refuses and sets off toward a fate Caspia knows will kill her.
In the present, Caspia lives in the castle with Andreas and their newborn daughter. Andreas has recently been crowned king after the sudden deaths of both his parents. The persistent thrum in Caspia’s chest, which paused during pregnancy, has returned. Andreas nicknames the baby Dess, short for Odessa, after Caspia’s mother.
Before Caspia can finish telling Andreas she has a bad feeling, a steward announces that four Voster priests have arrived in the throne room, demanding to see them both. Caspia recognizes this as the moment from her vision.
She sends Andreas ahead and races to a hidden compartment she built in secret. She hides her necklace there for her daughter to find one day, then summons Margot. Caspia hands Margot the baby and a journal, makes her vow to protect Odessa, and tells her to give the journal to her daughter when the time is right. She also tells Margot, who’s clearly in love with Andreas, not to let him wither after she’s gone.
Caspia walks to the throne room alone. The scene unfolds exactly as she foresaw. The Voster use wind magic to push Andreas back and send two priests upstairs to hunt for the baby. Caspia tells Andreas to drive his sword through her heart, and before he can stop her, she shifts. Her ritus is finally complete. She becomes the Starling, a creature of feathers and talons, and kills the Voster.