Below you will find our episode recap where we explore chapters 1-7 of Devney Perry's Shield of Sparrows. To listen to this episode check out Spotify or Apple.
Chapter One
We open with our girl Odessa, standing at the edge of a damn cliff, contemplating if she should jump—not because she’s tragic or on heroine, but because she’s got intrusive thoughts™, a rebellious streak, and is completely over everyone's expectations of what a princess should be. She’s basically a fairytale anti-heroine with a deeply relatable Type B vibe and a ticking clock hanging over her head. If she jumps, she’ll be late. If she’s late, Margot (her possible evil stepmother) will lose it, and she’ll be in Taylor Swift levels of trouble, trouble, trouble.
She pulls back from the edge (for now) and reflects on how her half-sister Mae, the overachieving, sex-positive crown princess of Turan, was made for the role she’s currently being primped (or pimped) for—like it's the red carpet at the Oscars. Odessa, meanwhile, has been shoved into a gray dress (rude), clearly meant to fade her into the background, Cinderella-coded and all.
Enter Banner, her 15-years-older fiancé, who has the emotional warmth of a cold spoon and the personality of a flagpole. He’s got all the right genetics (Quentis-born = amber starburst eyes), but none of the charm (we believe he is a three pump chump). Their relationship is a loveless political match, and they both know it. He shows up dressed to impress, but not for her—turns out he just needed some air. Classic.
Banner hates The Guardian. Like, a lot. He tells Odessa to pray for him today and then starts yelling in her face about revenge, his dead brother, and family trauma caused by said Guardian. The vibe is: Temu Inigo Montoya energy, but without the charisma. Also: rude. Loud. Controlling. Gross.
Odessa rejects his offer to escort her and mentally spirals into thoughts about how Mae gets to marry a prince, travel, and be the treaty-sealing “Sparrow” of the Calandra alliance. Mae might not be virginal, but she’s free. Meanwhile, Odessa is stuck, dressed like a medieval monk, treated like an afterthought, and craving something more.
So what does she do? She runs toward the sea and jumps. Not because she’s broken. Because she wants to feel something real. Because the water is calling. And when she leaps—she flies.
And listen. “Fly” might not be just metaphorical here. Keep your eye on the Crux, the flying creatures, and the strange word choice. Something’s brewing.
Questions we have?
- Why is Margot putting Odessa in grey? Why does she want her to fade into the background?
- The use of the word fly. "Slightest tremor in the earth and I'd either fall or fly." Crux. Sparrow. Book dedication.
Dictionary Time:
Quentin name meaning: the fifth
Turah: Fragrance pleasing to god
calandra: Greek: lovely one Italian: beautiful singing voice in Italian
Banner: flag bearer, what a fucking dork
Carine: Dear Beloved or pure
Chapter Two
Okay, so our Princess Odessa (name meaning: long journey, wandering, wrathful, and possibly “spawn of Papa God”) has just hurled herself off a cliff, casually, like you do and we pick back up with her dripping wet, cold, and very much not in a sexy, slow-mo music video way. Apparently, she’s been cliff-diving since she was sixteen because it’s the only thing she’s good at (relatable), and she claims this cliff like it’s emotional real estate. It's her safe space. Her therapy. Her whole “If I can’t have peace, I’ll take adrenaline” vibe.
She sneaks back into the castle, soaking wet and humming Don’t Be Suspicious, and finds herself wandering a gallery filled with Crux-themed horror murals. The Crux, btw, are giant, eagle like murder monsters that terrorize Calandra every 30 years or so. One mural even features an auburn male Crux literally eating people like string cheese. Also weird it has auburn hair (like our fav second rate princess).
✨ Enter the Lore Drop
We learn that:
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The Old Gods (Ama & Oda—mom and dad of creation) made animals out of love.
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The Six New Gods, bitter, jealous, middle-child energy, made better, stronger, deadly versions as a cosmic flex.
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The Crux are the worst of those creations beautiful and terrifying AF.
And let’s put a big red circle around the fact that Crux = bird monsters. Then immediately after, Odessa runs into a Voster Priest who cocks his head like a BIRD. Coincidence?? I think NOT.
The Voster Priest:
Sir Creepy shows up looking like if a heron and Gollum had a baby and dressed it in burgundy. Long green fingernails, no eyebrows, and eyes that are just solid, soulless green. He also does some low key magic by pulling the water from her hair and turning it into a crown, which is... super normal and not at all ominous.
This is the first time we see Odessa up close and personal with Voster magic, which makes her feel nauseous and dizzy, like she just got off a tilt-a-whirl from hell. Apparently, the Voster bend air and water and blood, and their magic is all about making aesthetic statements.
Also, nobody knows how many Voster there are or where they even live. Just casually throwing that out there. Odessa says “hundreds or thousands,” but let’s be honest it's giving suspicious “Six” energy. We’re watching.
Dress Code Abuse & Mommy Issues:
Back in her room, Margot the Stepmonster™ shows up with her usual brand of emotional abuse. She scolds Odessa for being late (even though she’s not), offers zero help, and insists on putting brown dye in her hair. Why? Because Odessa’s red-gold-copper-fire strands remind her too much of her mom who she low-key hates. Oh PS: Margot used to be Odessa's mom former lady maid.
So let’s unpack that:
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Margot dyes Odessa’s hair brown to erase her mother’s legacy.
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She doesn’t let her match Mae’s blonde locks either.
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Basically, she wants Odessa blend into the walls. Why? Is she trying to protect her or sabatoge her.
And the only thing Odessa gets to wear with color? Her crown. Made of sparkling amber jewels, a nod to those born on Quentis soil. That’s right, her literal only sparkle is government issued.
Meanwhile, Mae is out there...
Living her best skank life. She’s about to marry a prince, she’s doing hot girl things, and no one is shaming her for it. Odessa, on the other hand, gets yelled at for taking a literal swim. Double standards much?
Margot tells her she could’ve been eaten by sharks or worse, marroweels, a monstrous species that’s been migrating inland and absolutely wrecking the kingdom’s trade routes. And while Odessa is stuck in sad girl gray, the Turans have been out there straight up murdering marroweels and decorating the docks with their corpses. So now there’s a meeting about it, apparently it couldn't be an email.
Enter: The Guardian™
Margot lets it slip that The Guardian is coming with the Turans. You know, the one who:
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Allegedly killed Banner’s brother in a love triangle gone wrong.
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Is rumored to be Izzac incarnate, aka the God of Death playing dress up.
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Or was gifted magic by the Old Gods directly.
In any case, he’s already Daddy, and we know Odessa is gonna vibe with that brooding, possibly immortal energy real soon.
Political Set-Up:
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The marroweels are jacking up the supply lines. Kingdoms are getting twitchy. War is on the horizon if shipments don’t arrive.
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Odessa’s kingdom needs allies. Hence the high-stakes Turan summit.
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Oh, and crux season is apparently about to start, so yeah, no pressure.
Odessa finally throws on her crown (the one thing that makes her feel like someone) and heads to the throne room—fashionably late, of course.
Key Themes to Track:
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Hair color = identity and control
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Crux = bird = Voster or Odessa
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Crown as symbolism (she only sparkles in the thing that signifies duty)
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Magic as invasive (Odessa feels sick near it)
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Margot’s manipulation (emotional, physical, symbolic)
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And The Guardian’s arrival... because we are absolutely watching that unfold
