Shield of Sparrows Chapter 25
Odessa goes for a walk with Zavier and his daughter Evie, but the outing is cut short when the Guardian emerges from the forest with serious news. He pulls Zavier aside, and whatever he says is troubling enough to end their time together.
Later, Odessa finds Brielle and asks if she’s heard anything about sick monsters. Brielle has nothing on that but shares other rumors. Several men have gone missing, and King Ramsey is recruiting aggressively for his private militia. At least one mail carrier has already quit to join.
Odessa connects the pieces: the book burning, the growing militia, the missing men. She wonders if her father’s mission is a direct response to Ramsey rather than a separate plan.
Her current approach isn’t working. She needs to find a way out of the village to gather more information.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 26
With Zavier and the others away, Odessa takes action. Brielle pretends to be the princess and pays a merchant to smuggle her maid to the nearby town of Ashmore. Odessa hides in the back of the wagon and slips past the guards.
In Ashmore, Odessa spots the Guardian outside a tavern, completely absorbed by a beautiful blonde woman. She ducks into a side alley and watches him lead the woman inside. Something stirs in Odessa’s gut, though she tells herself it’s annoyance and not jealousy.
Odessa finds an inn and rents a room. The moment she closes the door, the Guardian speaks from the center of the room. He anticipated her move and is waiting, absolutely furious.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 27
The Guardian demands to know what Odessa was thinking. She offers a halfhearted apology, though privately Odessa feels proud that her disguise fooled the watchtower guards. He tells her never to attempt an escape again. Odessa stands her ground, reminds him she never asked for this marriage or the move to Turah, and promises to resist him at every turn. The Guardian stares at her in silence.
Then the Guardian asks calmly why Odessa never just asked permission to leave the village. A servant arrives with her dinner before she can answer, and the Guardian slips out through the window.
Odessa eats alone and wrestles with doubts about her father’s mission. She worries she may be risking a war on nothing more than a desperate hope that he’s right.
Later, the Guardian returns, takes a pillow, and settles on the floor. He reveals he’s known about Odessa’s natural red hair from the start because the scent of the dye is impossible to hide. They trade a few insults before an uneasy peace settles over the room.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 28
Odessa wakes to a note from the Guardian telling her not to wander too far. She takes it as permission to explore and heads into Ashmore with her knives.
At the library, Odessa finds only rubble. Cathlin meets her there, and they walk together. Cathlin explains that Ramsey has been pulling soldiers from smaller villages and may be forcing subjects into major cities to keep them under watch. Odessa asks if the militia buildup is about power rather than the migration. Cathlin hints Odessa is on the right track but says nothing more.
Warning bells cut the conversation short. People run for cover, and Cathlin tells Odessa to get to the inn. Then Odessa hears a familiar clicking sound from her night on the plains. Bariwolves are attacking the town.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 29
A pack of bariwolves attacks Ashmore. Odessa spots a woman with a limp struggling to reach safety and whistles to draw one of the monsters away from her. The Guardian appears and kills a second beast before it can strike Odessa from behind.
Odessa and Cathlin take cover in the tavern, but a massive bariwolf crashes through the window and attacks the blonde woman Odessa saw the day before. Odessa grabs a crossbow and wounds the creature. She and Cathlin flee upstairs.
From the window, Odessa watches the Guardian fight several monsters alone. He’s bleeding heavily and appears to be losing. She steps onto a rickety balcony and fires, crippling one wolf enough for the Guardian to finish it off. The rest either flee or are killed.
Odessa tries to climb down, but the balcony collapses. She falls to the porch just as a bariwolf charges through the broken window. The Guardian throws his sword and splits the monster’s skull.
The Guardian is livid as he pulls Odessa to her feet. The crossbow is trapped between them with her finger on the trigger. He dares her to shoot him. Odessa can’t. He releases her and vanishes before Cathlin can reach them.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 30
Seventeen people died in the attack, including Sariah, the woman who had opened the tavern door. Odessa helps dig Sariah’s grave and spends the night wide awake. The Guardian staggers in drunk, his injuries fully healed. She tosses him a pillow as he drops to the floor.
Odessa apologizes for Sariah. The Guardian tells her not to act like a martyr and says Sariah understood the risks, though he’s sorry too. Odessa asks if they’ll reach the capital before the migration. He says they won’t. She brings up the monsters’ strange green blood. The Guardian confirms her suspicion with one word: Lyssa. He falls asleep before Odessa can ask anything more.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 31
Cathlin meets Odessa and the Guardian downstairs before they leave. She hands Odessa a book about Turan customs and promises to bring more next time. They say their goodbyes by pressing their hands over their hearts. Odessa is caught off guard when the Guardian pulls Cathlin into a brief hug, a rare moment of warmth that feels out of character for him.
Outside, Odessa voices her frustration about towns like Ashmore being left unprotected. The Guardian shuts her down and asks whether she has a better plan than the one he and Zavier already have. Odessa doesn’t.
The Guardian lifts Odessa onto the saddle and climbs up behind her. At the road, he turns toward the mountains instead of Treow and tells Odessa they’re heading to Ellder, where Zavier is waiting. They ride in silence for hours until exhaustion takes over and Odessa falls asleep against the Guardian’s chest.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 32
Odessa wakes from a terrifying dream, still leaning against the Guardian. He has stopped at a cliff overlooking a valley and shares a memory about his mother bringing him there to teach him to be still and appreciate beauty. The atmosphere grows heavy and tense. To break it, Odessa tells the Guardian she hates him. He tells her to remember that.
Later, Odessa and the Guardian reach Ellder after dark. The people treat the Guardian with reverence and excitement. He takes Odessa to a private room in Zavier’s house and tells her it’s her new home. Odessa won’t be returning to her treehouse, and her companions are staying behind. It feels like deliberate isolation.
As the Guardian leaves, Odessa grabs his arm. He notices her wince from the day before and apologizes. He touches a lock of Odessa’s hair and encourages her to stop hiding her true self in Turah. Once alone, she pours her hair dye out the window.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 33
Odessa has spent a week in Ellder and grown close with young Evie. One morning, Evie leads her to the fortress dungeons, where Luella has been secretly storing books to protect them from the king’s book‑burning decree. Odessa notices a cell filled with scrolls and makes a mental note to return alone to search them.
Soon after, she and Evie run into Luella and Cathlin, who has set aside books for Odessa, including a volume on Calandran myths and legends. Luella tells Odessa to take Evie home. The two linger just long enough to overhear Luella warn Cathlin that discovery of the secret library would mean serious trouble.
Back at the main house, Zavier makes an unexpected appearance. He reunites with Evie and greets Odessa. Zavier notices Odessa’s natural red hair, tells her he finds it far more attractive than the dyed version, and invites her to dinner before heading off with Evie.
When Odessa returns to her suite, the Guardian is waiting with a sword. He reminds her that she demanded a weapon and tells her training starts now. Without giving her a moment to rest, he takes Odessa downstairs.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 34
Odessa has spent a week practicing with her sword. During their last session, unmistakable tension fills the air, and the Guardian ends the lesson immediately. When the Guardian tells her she’s getting better, she takes it as a hard‑earned victory.
That afternoon, while walking through Ellder, Odessa thinks about how her mission has stalled. The scrolls from the dungeon have been moved, and locals go tight-lipped whenever she brings up Allesaria. She starts to wonder if it’s even real and decides to stop asking to avoid drawing attention.
On her way back, Odessa finds the Guardian with Evie, who’s mid‑tantrum. Zavier has left Ellder again without a word to his daughter. The Guardian comforts Evie by promising a special trip to Treow tomorrow to pick up Freya, Odessa’s horse. He invites Odessa along, Evie begs her to come, and she agrees.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 35
On the ride to Treow, Evie accidentally mentions she’s a princess. The Guardian reassures her that she doesn’t need to hide that from Odessa.
Once Evie falls asleep, Odessa asks about Lyssa. The Guardian explains it’s an infection turning the realm’s monsters into aggressive killers that hunt for sport. Zavier and several hunting parties are tracking and destroying the infected. Lyssa spreads through a bite, and before he can spell out the danger to humans, Odessa puts it together herself.
The Guardian pushes back his leather cuff to reveal a crescent‑shaped scar, a mark from a bariwolf attack four years ago. He carries the Lyssa infection and believes he’s the only person to have survived a bite from an infected beast. When Odessa asks about a plan, the Guardian says the only option is to kill every creature carrying the disease. The implication is clear. He intends to include himself in that purge.
A smirk crosses the Guardian’s face as he tells Odessa her father would be delighted to hear he’s dying, then suggests she take the credit when she speaks to the king.
Shield of Sparrows Chapter 36
The Guardian explains that Lyssa amplifies a person’s natural power but fuels a dangerous bloodlust, and he admits he’s slowly losing control of his violent impulses. Before Odessa can ask more, two panicked soldiers arrive. They report that a tarkin has ambushed their group and may have followed the survivors into Treow.
Acting quickly, the Guardian moves Evie onto Freya and orders the soldiers to guard their flanks. At the village, he drops them off at the treehouse and rushes to the main square. Odessa hides Evie under the bed and watches from the balcony as a tarkin prowls below. It seems to move on, but then she spots a girl and a young boy heading for her ladder.
Odessa climbs down to help the children, but the tarkin picks up their scent and turns back. She grabs the boy and starts climbing, only for the creature to lunge and tear the ladder from the balcony. They both fall. Odessa throws herself over the boy, and the Guardian arrives in time to kill the tarkin.
After the fight, the Guardian pulls Odessa up and holds her face in his hands. He rests his head against hers briefly before nearby shouts pull them back. The tarkin has green blood, confirming it was infected. As Odessa processes everything, the High Priest appears at the edge of the village.