All three sets of eyes widened now as they absorbed what that meant.
“We’ve brought the Jumper,” Riggs said.
“I need you in human form,” Riley urged. “Hurry.”
They immediately transformed, and Lady Eriana rushed to Riggs.
“The boys,” she gasped to him. “Their caregivers are staying overnight at the palace party, but the boys are here. And they aren’t in their rooms.”
“I had a vision of them in a hallway,” I said. “But they mentioned a passageway?”
My heart constricted, but Dani asked, “Do you know where they might be?”
She blinked at the mention of my vision, but then her eyes lit up. “They like to explore the old servant’s underground passages that connect the kitchen to the receiving area.”
“Do they have an external entrance?” Dani asked.
She shook her head. “No. It’s why I don’t worry about them. Everything is contained here. They merely link those two areas.”
“Where are the doorways?” Riley asked.
The younger Dragon answered. She looked to be in her late teens. “One entrance is at the back of the kitchen, behind the ovens. The other is on the west wall of the receiving area.”
“Is one of the halls wider, with lots of art on display?” I asked.
All three Dragonas nodded. “The kitchen hall doesn’t have art,” the Matriarch said.
“Then my vision was of the receiving hall,” I said. “I think they were trying to get back to the passageway.”
Dani turned to Riley. “We’ll need to hop back to the kitchen. Then return to get the Matriarch and the princesses out. You’ll have to make a third jump for Havoc, Nettie, and the bearing beast. With any luck, we’ll have found the boys by then. Your guys can send you the location, and you can come get us.”
Riley didn’t argue. She met the Matriarch’s eyes. “I’ll be right back.” To us, she said, “Grab on.”
“I’m not leaving without the boys,” Lady Eriana interrupted.
Dani responded as she took Riley’s arm. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. But we must break this into pieces so Riley can Jump safely. And she needs to get you out as soon as she moves the others so they can find the boys.”
The Matriarch drew herself up, but her older daughter moved close to her. “We must listen, mother. There is too much at stake here. We have to get you to safety.”
Something within the older Dragona seemed to give, but she faced up to Riggs. “Promise me you’ll get the boys out.”
Riggs looked down at her. Did he remember her at all? It was impossible to tell.
He stared at her, though, with an odd expression. “Does the name Splinter mean anything to you?”
I shot him a look. But the Matriarch’s eyes lit up. “It did to my son. And Michelangelo would save them.”
He should have been as confused by this statement as I was, but, he said, “I can’t remember if I’ve ever let you down before, but I don’t intend to start now. I will find them.”
He took my hand. I folded my free one into Riley’s.
And with an audible snap, we vanished in a cloud of golden light.
The kitchen was so filled with smoke we could barely breathe.
We released Riley, but she hesitated, meeting Marcus’s gaze.
“Go,” he whispered. “We’ll be fine. Get them out.”
