Rise of Allies (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

scientist . Instead of spells, Archie loved his gadgets, and if he could not find a tool he needed to build some new invention, then he invented the tool, too.
    Just then, a familiar face appeared, albeit a very small one. Everyone exclaimed with delight, greeting Gladwin Lightwing as she came zooming over to them. The little fairy’s sparkle-trail was particularly bright that day, betraying her excitement over the Gathering.
    “Oh, my friends are here!” she said in her tinkling voice. She hovered before them, her iridescent wings beating too fast for the human eye to see. “Have you been assigned your rooms yet?”
    “No,” they said.
    “Henry, you have to go over to the butler’s table set up over there to get your room keys,” she informed him.
    “Oh, very good. Thank you, Gladwin. I’ll go, my lady,” he said to Aunt Ramona before turning to the children. “Don’t you lot go wandering off. I don’t want anyone getting lost.” The tutor then left them, squeezing through the crowd to join the queue of guests waiting for their room assignments.
    Gladwin beamed at them. “I’m so happy you all are here at last. We’re going to have such fun! Jake, are you nervous about your Assessment?”
    “No! Well—yes. A little,” he admitted. Frankly, he didn’t even want to think about the ordeal ahead.
    He brushed the reminder of it aside, longing for the stoic, patient presence and steadying words of his rugged mentor, Guardian Derek Stone, who had been helping him get ready for the test for some time. “Gladwin, have you seen Derek?”
    “Hmm. No.” The royal garden fairy fluttered up a little higher and glanced around at the crowd. “Actually, I haven’t. I’m not sure if he’s here yet.”
    “He is coming, though, right?”
    “Of course he’s coming! Jake, Guardian Stone would never miss your Assessment. He was your father’s best friend! He’ll be here for you. Never fear. A Guardian always arrives just when he’s needed, as you know all too well.”
    “I suppose,” Jake moped.
    “Oh, come!” The fairy flew closer and gave him a familiar, teasing tug on his blond forelock. “Stop looking so nervous! I’m sure Derek’s around here somewhere.”
    “He’s probably off flirting with Miss Helena,” Dani said with a grin.
    Aunt Ramona pursed her lips and pretended not to hear that. Miss Helena DuVal was Henry’s twin sister, and the girls’ governess. A governess was not supposed to have a beau. It wasn’t strictly proper.
    But then, a Guardian was not supposed to have a sweetheart, either. It was thought that such romantic attachments would only distract the Order’s warriors from their missions. It was not quite forbidden, but definitely frowned upon.
    In any case, the carriage could only hold six people, so Miss Helena had come down ahead of them the day before, bringing a large trunk of fancy gowns with her, not just for Isabelle to wear throughout the Gathering, but also a few specific, long, dinner gowns that Izzy’s mother, Lady Bradford, couldn’t fit into her baggage.
    No doubt the governess had not minded her task of delivering the dresses, since it would likely give her some time to be alone with her not-boyfriend, Derek.
    “Oh, there are your parents!” Gladwin said brightly, pointing toward the art gallery.
    “Mother! Father!”
    Instantly, Isabelle and Archie went rushing off to see the terribly glamorous Uncle Richard and Aunt Claire, Lord and Lady Bradford. They did not get to see their parents very much, since they were often traveling as diplomats for the Order.
    Jake and Dani hung back, remaining with Aunt Ramona and still waiting for Henry to return with their room keys.
    As Archie and Isabelle ran to hug their parents, Jake could not deny feeling a twinge of—well, not exactly jealousy. Insecurity, perhaps. It was a pointed reminder that he had no mother and father to cheer him on in his Assessment.
    No sign of Derek. No time to go and see Red beforehand…
    He