Shield of Sparrows Summary - Read a recap of Shield of Sparrows

Read a Shield of Sparrows summary with spoilers, book #1 in Devney Perry’s Shield of Sparrows series. If you are wondering what happened in Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry, then you are in the right place! Get ready for book two by reading up on exactly what happened in the first one. And don’t forget to check out the beautiful hardcover edition of book two, Rites of the Starling.

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Author
Devney Perry

Ratings
4.6 stars on Amazon
4.4 stars on Goodreads
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Shield of Sparrows Series
#1 Shield of Sparrows summary (this page)
#2 Rites of the Starling (synopsis)

***** Everything below is a SPOILER *****

What happened in Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry?

Your Shield of Sparrows summary:

Princess Odessa Cross of Quentis has spent her life fearing monsters and wondering when the next monster migration will occur. Though she is the oldest, her half-sister, Mea, is her father’s favorite. Mae has been preparing for her marriage to Zavier Wolfe, prince of Turah, for quite some time. Meanwhile, Odessa is betrothed to Banner, the captain of her father’s guard. They get along, but Odessa is not in love with him. The princesses have a younger brother named Arthalayus.

When Prince Zavier arrives along with a man known as the Guardian, everyone is astonished when the Guardian says Prince Zavier will not marry Mae. They brought the bodies of seven marrowheels (sea monsters), fulfilling the Chain of Sevens, which allows them to choose the bride who will fulfill the Shield of Sparrows, a longstanding marriage contract between the different kingdoms. Prince Zavier will marry Odessa instead. Odessa’s father, King Roan, can do nothing because the Voster High Priest backs them. Prince Zavier and Princess Odessa will marry immediately.

That night, Odessa learns from her father that he orchestrated a crisis that would accelerate Mae’s marriage to Prince Zavier. Mae has been preparing to spy for him for a long time. She was to find a way into the city of Allesaria, learn about the Guardian’s powers, report back, and eventually assassinate the Guardian. Now, without knowing why, Odessa will have to do these things with very little training.

Odessa marries the prince with a signed magical treaty stating that neither of the newlyweds can kill the other without also dying. The treaty is signed in blood.

Odessa boards Zavier’s ship along with two of her lady’s maids, Brielle and Jossalyn, and they set sail for Turah.

Odessa gets to know both Zavier and the Guardian—who, she later learns, is named Ransom—to some extent, though they are both infuriating. Her husband, Prince Zavier, never attempts to be near her. But, over time, Odessa begins to enjoy the newfound freedom of no longer being under her father’s thumb.

Monsters attack the ship, and after this, she insists on having a sword, so Ransom insists she take lessons. Odessa overhears Zavier tell Ransom that she will likely try to kill him, but that they should not harm her. “Something” is spreading. Odessa is aware that she’s a terrible spy.

When they make land, they travel on horseback toward Allesaria. Or so it seems. Eventually, Odessa realizes they are deliberately not taking her there because they don’t trust her. They encounter monsters on the way until they stop in a treehouse town called Treow. Zavier and Ransom come and go. Odessa spends time in the library learning more, and Ransom continues to train her when he can. Though he irritates her and she tries not to, she is slowly falling for him. She is intrigued by his ever-shifting eyes and inhuman speed.

When Ransom is not around, he assigns Tillia to train and “babysit” Odessa.

Time passes, and eventually the king arrives. Odessa is told to hide, and the king’s soldiers ransack the village and burn all the books in the library, including the ones she had in her room.

Eventually, Odessa learns that Prince Zavier has a secret daughter called Evangeline. Odessa promises to keep his secret.

Odessa tries to sneak out and explore, but Ransom finds her. They are to travel back to Treow the next day, but a monster attack in the city prevents them from leaving. Ransom fights, and Odessa has an opportunity to kill him after the battle (fulfilling her father’s wishes), but she can’t. She doesn’t want to.

They relocate to Ellder, and Odessa settles into a new routine, spending a lot of time with Evangeline, who is quite sneaky and leads her to a hidden stash of books. Odessa also learns that maps are forbidden in this kingdom.

From Ransom, Odessa learns that the monsters are infected with a disease called Lyssa that turns their blood green and makes them even more vicious. And Ransom has had it ever since he was bitten by a one-eyed bariwolf monster four years ago. It’s where he gets his super-human abilities, and the priest even siphons it from his blood occasionally. It will eventually kill him.

They agree that Odessa will help gather more information about the disease so that it hopefully won’t infect the monsters during the next migration. Ransom refuses to let her believe there is a cure.

Odessa joins Ransom to investigate a nearby city that was recently attacked. She finds a group of baby monsters, only one of which has survived after its mother was killed. Odessa keeps it and nurses it back to health after they confirm it does not have the disease. She calls it Faze.

They eventually run across the King on their travels, and he mysteriously tells Ransom that he has one month to return to the capital.

When they return to Ellder, Odessa discovers Jossalyn having an affair with her husband, Prince Zavier. She sends Jossalyn home to her father and then finds out that Zavier is not actually her husband. Ransom is. And Ransom is the prince. Zavier is his body double and cousin. Also, although Evangeline considers Zavier her father, she is actually Ransom’s sister. Ransom’s mother, Luella, had an affair, and when the king found out, he killed her lover and nearly killed her. The king does not know about Evangeline, and Luella (the owner of the secret stash of books) is now in hiding. It takes a while, but Odessa finally forgives Ransom for all the lies. She was in love with him anyway.

Ransom confides that he believes Odessa’s father is trying to find a way to break the treaty so the kingdoms can fight over land.

They continue to hunt monsters and learn about them. One day after an attack, Odessa touches one of the priests. She can always feel his magic when he is near, but this time it causes her physical pain. He asks who her mother is. Later, Ramson wonders if there is something inside Odessa that draws the monsters to her.

While Zavier and Ransom are out hunting monsters, Odessa encounters one of the king’s guards, who seems crazed and tries to kill her. Odessa slits his throat, revealing the green blood of someone infected with Lyssa.

When healed, Odessa discovers that Ransom’s mother, Luella, created what is considered the start of Lyssa and gave it to Ransom as a child. It didn’t do anything right away, but years later, when the one-eyed beast bit him, it changed him. The combination of the two made him superhuman. She feels terrible and swears she will find a cure.

Unfortunately, when the king figured this out, he started running his own experiments. But he hasn’t been successful. He doesn’t know that the bariwolf bite was part of the process. The king is burning books because he knows people like Luella have gathered books and left notes in them, and he doesn’t want anyone else attempting to do what he is doing.

How did Shield of Sparrows end? Shield of Sparrows summary

Ransom decides to go to his father to talk some sense into him. But before he can leave, King Ramsey arrives in Ellder with a legion. He wants to take back his wife, Luella. They seize her. Odessa’s lady’s maid, Jocelyn, has betrayed them.

Odessa’s ex-fiance, Banner, is there. He’s come to reclaim his fiancée, but Odessa soon realizes it’s not her. Banner came to collect her other lady’s maid, Brielle.

But before the confrontation can continue, they are interrupted by a crux scout. Its arrival signals that the migration will begin soon. It wreaks havoc on the city, killing many, including Luella.

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Odessa retrieves Luella’s most valued books and flees with Evangeline. Banner seeks to kill Odessa, and they fight, but Odessa’s training has paid off. She kills him, but not before he maims Zavier with a throwing knife.

Ransom helps Odessa, Evangeline, and Faze escape the crux. He sends them on, giving Odessa his arm cuff, which hides a map. They are to go to Treow, and if he doesn’t return, they’re to leave Turah. Brother Dime leads them on their way, as Ransom is snatched up into the crux’s talons.

We jump to Ransom’s point of view. He wakes, learning that Ramsey has left, and Zavier is alive but near death. Most surprising of all, however, is that the now dead crux has mysteriously transformed into a human woman. She has the same red hair as Odessa.

There you go! That’s a recap of what happened in Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry. We hope you enjoyed this Shield of Sparrows summary with spoilers.

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