Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1)

by Devney Perry

“Mother.” Ransom’s fists landed on the table, slamming so hard the jar of cave ginger nearly toppled over. “What have you done?” She met his eyes, defiant and bold. “I can’t lose you. I can’t lose Evie. I won’t. I did what I thought was best to keep you safe and alive.” “Alive? You created Lyssa. And now it’s killing me.”

“Lyssa is magical. And I am not. But Calandra has magic. Just look at the different eyes in this room.”

So Luella and her alchemists created a concoction of the ordinary. Biproducts of monsters to strengthen normal bodies, to help fight infections and sickness. The reason the Voster had never felt Lyssa’s magical signature in Allesaria was because the magical signature didn’t exist. At least not yet. All she’d done was create a medicine.

I think the elixir we gave you was the fundamental magic for Lyssa and the bariwolf’s saliva was the missing piece. When it bit you, a bond formed. A bond between man and monster and magic. That day, you both created Lyssa, and it has since morphed in your bodies.

Even from across the room, I felt Ransom’s heart break. Lyssa was born from two beings. A bariwolf. A one-eyed monster. And Ransom. “That bariwolf was never the beginning.” His voice cracked. “It was me. I started Lyssa.”

“He must not find out. No one can know,” Luella said. “We cannot sacrifice our sons.”

Ransom thought the other kingdoms didn’t realize he had the infection, but my father must have suspected as much. The Guardian and Lyssa. It was all connected. Father’s desire to get into Allesaria had to be tied to his need to understand the Guardian’s powers.

needed to go after Ransom. To chase him down and make sure he was all right. Except I was frozen in place, eyes glued to that book on the table. It had flipped over when Ransom had tossed it, showing the other side. There was an intricate etching on the cover. A winged emblem. The same emblem on the pendant I wore around my neck.

Unless his father stopped this madness, stopped killing men in some impossible quest to replicate Ransom’s gifts, then the monster the Guardian would slay next was his king.

“You are not fucking dying, Ransom Wolfe.” “Hey.” He hauled me into his arms, holding me close as I fisted the back of his shirt. “Please don’t leave me,” I whispered. He kissed my hair, arms banding tight. “There has to be another way.” “I don’t have an army for this fight, Odessa.” No, he didn’t. But my father did.

Brielle appeared at her side, and when she spotted us all, a strangled cry came from her throat. “Banner?” Relief washed over his face as he opened his arms. “Brielle.” She blew past the soldiers and Jocelyn, running for him, hair streaming at her back, legs and arms pumping until she crashed into his chest. “You came for me.” “I promised I’d find a way.” He leaned back, taking her face in his hands as tears streamed down her cheeks. Then he kissed her like they were alone in a dark bedroom, not standing amidst a crowd of people. That kiss knocked the wind from my lungs. Banner and Brielle. She was his fiancée? And this was the bargain Banner had made? Jocelyn’s information for Brielle.

“I made a vow. I promised to avenge him.” He swallowed hard, staring at me for a long moment. Almost like he wanted to let this go, but the ghosts of his brother, his mother, and his pride would not let him quit. He might have come to Turah for Brielle. But he’d stay for vengeance. By killing me. The person the Guardian loved most.

“You are not killing me today,” I told him. This was the reason I’d asked Ransom and Zavier for a sword. This was what I’d spent months and months training for. Not for someone else to come to my rescue. To rescue myself.

It all happened at once. Banner whirled, gaze wild. His hand moved like a bolt of lightning, flicking that knife, sending the blade tumbling end over end. It buried deep into Zavier’s gut. At the same time, I drove my knives through Banner’s.

not zvier!!!!!!!!!!

kissed her temple as we stopped beside the toy shop where we’d bought Merry the plush rabbit. Today. That had just been today.

Hot tears dripped to the dirt at my boots. “I love you.” “Yes, you do. Don’t forget.” “Never.” “Neither will I.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I will find you. Here, or in the shades.”

Ransom in her talons.

Halston was fighting for his life in the infirmary. So was Zavier. A healer, Geezala, had found Zavier’s body last night. She’d heard a whistle she’d learned from her time as a healer in Treow. She’d warned me to prepare for the worst. That no man could likely survive such a wound. When Tillia had overheard, she’d told Geezala to fuck off and save Zavier’s life. By sheer, stubborn will, Tillia would see that Halston survived his injury. And she’d see to it that Zavier lived to witness another dawn.

STOP PLAYING WITH MY EMOTIONS

There should have been a monster’s lifeless body in the courtyard. There should have been a winged beast with my sword in its chest. Instead, I’d pulled my sword from this woman’s body. A woman with red hair, the spiraling curls a mix of orange and strawberry and copper.

WWWWWHHHHHAAAATTTTTTTT