The Drowned Tomb (The Changeling Series Book 2) by James Fahy Read Free Book Online

me.”
    Robin considered that Aunt Irene’s choice of willing tutor may have been severely limited.
    Henry sniggered. “Is she a looker then?” he probed. Neither he nor Karya had met her yet. When Robin and his new tutor had reached the house, Hestia the housekeeper had materialised out of nowhere like a jack-in-the-box to whisk her off to meet Aunt Irene and shoo Robin away like a bothersome fly. She must have been peering out of windows, wishing Erlking had net curtains to twitch, Robin thought. He’d never met anybody as much of a busybody as Hestia. Madame Calypso had smiled politely at the housekeeper, in her distant half-asleep yet oddly aloof way, but Hestia clearly hadn’t been very impressed by what she saw. She had looked very unhappy about meeting the graceful woman, and had ushered her inside grimly, her lips pressed so thin with disapproval that they were almost invisible. Whatever her issue, she clearly wasn’t fond of nymphs.
    “She’s … a bit weird I suppose,” Robin admitted. “She’s pretty enough.” She was in fact stunning, but he wasn’t about to say this out loud to Henry and Karya. “But she’s a bit spaced out. She talks to herself, mutters.” He pushed himself up off the pillows. “That’s not why I did it anyway. I wasn’t trying to show off because she was gorgeous.”
    “Gorgeous now, is it?” Karya said lightly.
    “It was ‘pretty’ a minute ago,” Henry teased. Robin ignored them both.
    “I just … I suppose I just didn’t want to look rubbish. Make a good impression.”
    “If you say so, Scion,” Karya said, inspecting her fingernails.
    “Seriously, I think she had to give a lot up to come here and help train me.” Robin frowned at her. “She didn’t seem very happy about it. It’s hardly good for your social life in the Netherworlde, being connected to the world’s last changeling. I thought she should at least know I’m not a complete waste of time. From the impression I got, I don’t think she can go back to whatever life she left behind over there.”
    “Tell me about it,” Karya sighed. “Consorting with the likes of you? Might as well paint a target on your head. We should know.”
    “What I want to know,” Henry interrupted. “How do we know that she’s the real deal, then? Not some evil servant of Eris like last time you got a teacher? Don’t know about you two, but I don’t remember that working out very well last time. We had one of those weird creepy old men living under our roof for months without knowing it.”
    “She’s not one of the Grimm organisation,” Karya said reassuringly. She glanced at Robin. “The same thought occurred to me when you left to meet her, so I asked your aunt. Irene told me she had means in place to stop any of their kind entering Erlking’s grounds these days, whether they’re in disguise or not. They physically can’t do it.”
    “Enhanced wards?” Robin asked, intrigued, but the small girl only shrugged.
    “She didn’t specify, to be honest. But I don’t think Lady Irene is the kind to be caught by the same trick twice.”
    “Me neither,” Henry growled. Last year, he had been kidnapped by one of the Grimms, the dangerous and loyal lieutenants of Lady Eris herself. They were boogeymen of the highest order. He was still quite sore about it.
    “I wonder why the sudden decision to start on the Tower of Water, though.” Robin had been wondering. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve even finished on the Tower of Air yet. Why the urgency to learn water magic? We never even had any warning this new tutor was coming.” He sat up on his bed, making the ancient springs squeak. “Don’t you think it’s a bit sudden? Why wouldn’t Irene have mentioned it before, rather than just out of the blue now?”
    “It does seem a little … fishy.” Henry grinned. Robin and Karya both gave him a look. He held up his hands defensively. “Sorry.”
    “I’m sure your guardian has her reasons, and I’m sure