QUICK LINKS: TL;DR Summary // Chapter Summary 1–2 | 14–25 | 26–37 | 38–49 | 50–61 | 62–63
Chapter 3
Odessa slips into the throne room where her father is paying five Turan warriors for the marroweels. One warrior suggests the price may no longer be enough, but before the debate continues, two Voster priests enter. The second, more powerful, levitates, followed by the Guardian. Banner, at the king’s side, visibly struggles to contain his rage.
After introductions, Odessa’s father presents Mae to her betrothed, Prince Zavier. Zavier looks her over, then exchanges a silent look with the Guardian, who announces that the prince will marry Odessa instead, that night, as the bride price for killing the marroweels.
Chapter 4
The throne room erupts. Margot, Mae, Banner, and the king all push back, and Odessa accidentally calls the Guardian a jackass out loud before her father silences the room.
The king invokes the Shield of Sparrows treaty, claiming the right to choose which daughter is offered, and his own Voster priest backs him up.
But the other Voster reveals himself as the High Priest and raises the Chain of Sevens, an ancient decree entitling a warrior to a bride of his choosing if he kills seven female creatures of the same species. The Guardian reveals Zavier killed seven female marroweels, not six.
The king tries to dismiss it as legend, but the High Priest steps onto the floor, and the temperature plummets. The king backs down. The High Priest announces Odessa will marry Zavier, fulfilling both treaties at once.
Chapter 5
With the others gone, the king asks Brother Dime if there’s any way out. Brother Dime studies Odessa, says only that this is her fortune, and leaves.
The king dismisses the guards and Banner. Alone, Mae pulls a knife on Odessa, demanding to know what she did to steal the prince. Their father breaks it up, questions Odessa about her day, and accepts her partial answers. Then, in a rare moment of warmth, he apologizes and tells Odessa she has to go because refusing would cost him his life.
Then the king reveals his hand. He arranged for the Turans to come to Roslo so Zavier would come with them, and the wedding could be moved up ahead of schedule. The king’s real goal was to get a daughter into Turah to spy out the location of Allesaria, the hidden Turan capital, and find a way to breach it. He believes something there could stop the crux migration entirely.
Odessa wasn’t the daughter he planned to send, but he doesn’t hesitate. Her father orders her to find a way into Allesaria, learn everything she can about the Guardian’s powers, and kill him if she gets the chance. Then the king tells Margot to get Odessa ready for the wedding that night.
Chapter 6
Odessa prepares for her marriage and move to Turah. With no blue dress available, she settles on her palest gray one. Margot sends the others out and advises Odessa to keep Zavier happy enough that he won’t suspect her real purpose.
Before she leaves, Odessa retrieves two hidden items from her closet floor. One is a journal. The other is a mysterious necklace with a pendant she found years ago, which she has never been able to identify. She tucks it inside her dress.
Mae comes to say goodbye. She warns Odessa not to trust anyone in Turah and to be ruthless. They share a real hug before their father and Margot walk in. The king produces a small knife and a vial, cuts Odessa’s palm, and collects her blood. Odessa stares out at the ocean, resigned to what’s ahead.
Chapter 7
Odessa’s father escorts her to the castle’s underground sanctuary. Zavier and his warriors arrive, the Guardian entering last.
The ceremony is a quick signing of the Shield of Sparrows treaty. Reading it, Odessa learns that if she kills Zavier, she dies too, and vice versa. She says her vows, the Guardian speaks Zavier’s on his behalf, and Odessa and Zavier sign in blood. The High Priest seals it with magic.
The king invites everyone to a feast, but Zavier gives Odessa a brief kiss on the cheek and walks out with his warriors, leaving her father visibly furious.
As Odessa moves to leave, the Guardian stops her with a taunt about chasing her new husband to his room. He walks past her father without acknowledgment and tells her to enjoy her last night in Quentis. They sail at dawn.
Chapter 8
Odessa arrives at the docks at dawn, running on no sleep or food after a night being briefed on espionage in her father’s study. Her family hasn’t come to see her off.
She wanders to pass the time and stops to examine the seven dead marroweels hung on hooks, cutting her finger on a scale as she crouches for a closer look.
The Guardian appears and taunts Odessa about the voyage and her living conditions. She fires back and calls him a killer. When she doesn’t move, he grabs her waist and pushes her toward the ship. She trips toward the corpse and he catches her arm but lets go immediately when she winces from an earlier injury.
After a pause, the Guardian picks up a loose curl, apparently smells the dye in it, and drops it with contempt. Then he tells Odessa to come along. She follows, already fantasizing about pushing him overboard.
Chapter 9
Odessa finds her family waiting dockside after all. Mae pulls her aside to warn her about the Guardian and lets slip that she knows their father’s full plan for Allesaria. Margot hugs Odessa and tells her she’s more capable than she gives herself credit for. Odessa asks to say goodbye to Arthy but learns he wasn’t brought to the docks, and she has to leave without seeing him.
The king sends the others away and speaks to Odessa alone, apologizing for his failures and catching her off guard by mentioning her mother. Odessa presses him for more details about his plan, but he deflects, asks only that she trust him, and walks her to the ship.
As Roslo fades from view, Banner appears on horseback at the clifftop, and they wave to each other until he disappears. Odessa watches the coastline until it’s gone.
Zavier appears beside Odessa and speaks to her for the first time, telling her she’ll need different clothes in Turah. He calls her Odessa Wolfe, which hits her hard. She shoves her crown into his hands and walks away.
Chapter 10
Odessa wakes after a rough first night caring for her seasick lady’s maids. She finds clothes left in her locked room, ignores them, and puts on her usual gray dress.
On deck, the Guardian goads Odessa briefly before jumping overboard and swimming to the other ship at inhuman speed.
Zavier takes the Guardian’s place at the railing and speaks openly, warning Odessa that the Krisenth Crossing is dangerous and that three of their six ships were lost coming over. He mentions that killing seven marroweels was deliberate and that a previous Sparrow once left Turah after bearing her child, planting the idea that Odessa might one day be able to leave too.
Odessa understands that Zaver is testing her loyalty and decides to keep his confidence. When she asks why he chose her over Mae, he doesn’t answer. When she asks whether he desires her, he sidesteps it with a vague compliment and walks away.
Chapter 11
Odessa heads up to the deck in her Turan clothes. The Guardian taunts her, then implies Zavier hasn’t wanted her in his bed. Before she can respond, a marroweel slams into the ship.
The Guardian takes charge, sending the crew to the harpoons and ordering Brielle and Odessa to stay put. In the chaos, Odessa goes over the railing.
Odessa swims hard, but the ship is pulling away. The crew lowers the sails and turns back. The Guardian throws a harpoon with a rope into the water beside her, and she grabs it. As the crew hauls her in, the marroweel comes up beneath her. The Guardian orders the rope yanked hard at the last second, pulling her onto the deck as the monster launches itself after her, then kills it with a harpoon.
Zavier leaps from the other ship, finds Odessa alive, and gives the Guardian a nod.
The Guardian rounds on Odessa and orders her to follow his commands without question. She refuses, tells him she won’t take orders from him, and walks away, but she pauses to thank him for saving her life.
Chapter 12
Odessa goes up to find the dead marroweel hanging from the mast, its blood dark green. The Guardian tells her it’s a male, which explains its size. When she asks why he didn’t come in after her himself, he deflects, but she wonders whether he stayed on deck to kill the monster and save her at the same time.
Zavier arrives and reveals his quarters are on the Cutter, next to hers.
Odessa announces she wants a sword. Zavier is skeptical, but the Guardian hands her his own blade as a test, pointing it at his throat and telling her to hold it there. She struggles with the weight but refuses to give up until he knocks it from her hands and turns it on her. Zavier agrees to get her a sword.
Heading below, Odessa overhears Zavier and the Guardian agree that something is spreading. Then Zavier remarks that arming her is probably a bad idea since she’s going to try to kill the Guardian. The Guardian laughs it off. Odessa goes back to her room for the rest of the day.
Chapter 13
Odessa wakes to seabirds and goes up on deck. The Guardian tells her they’ll reach Turah before midday, then pulls out his dagger for her first lesson. She isn’t allowed to let him take it. He disarms her twice without effort and trips her before a crewman calls him away. She asks for his name. He tells her she’ll have to earn it, then adds that he’ll never trust her. The comment lands harder than she expects.
Zavier confirms the training was his idea and tells Odessa the Guardian is the best warrior in Turah. He notices she seems sad, and she tells him she’s homesick before he’s called away.
The ships drop anchor off the Turan coast. As the crew prepares the rowboats, Odessa notices the Guardian staring at the land with a hard, unreadable expression. Just as she moves to board, he appears at her side and tells her they aren’t parting yet.