She spears me with a stare. “You go. Make sure Magnus is okay. Find Lincoln. Wait for us at the other hospital. I’ll meet you there with Karma.”

“Jackie—”

She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter what you say to me right now. I’m not leaving this room until she’s out of surgery and they have a plan to move her. You need to go, Whitney. Don’t wait for me.”

“I’m not leaving this hospital without you, Jackie. I’ll give you a little time to get confirmation on how and when they’re going to move Karma, but you better be ready to go when I come back for you. Because if I have to drag you out kicking and screaming, I will.”

My aunt nods.

I wish I could believe she’s agreeing with me and not just trying to get me to go, but I don’t buy it for a second. Making a promise to myself that I will come back for her as soon as I find Lincoln, I leave the room.

I reach into my pocket for my phone so I can text Lincoln to find out where he is . . . but it’s gone. Shit. I have no idea when I lost it, but there’s a good chance it’s either in the chopper or somewhere on the lawn of the Riscoff estate. Either way, it won’t help me.

The hallway is an obstacle course of IV poles, patients in beds and wheelchairs, and hospital staff trying to stay organized in the face of chaos. I can barely find my way through the maze of everyone desperate to get the hell out of here with the fire closing in. I catch snippets of conversation with every other person I dodge.

“They say it’s moving fast. Wind’s picked up.”

“The whole town might burn.”

“It’s worse than the blaze back in 1901.”

“If we don’t hurry, we might not make it out in time.”

“They better save an ambulance for me. I can’t walk.”

Fear tinges everyone’s tone, and I wish there was something I could do to offer comfort. But right now, it sounds like the best thing I can do is get the hell out of the way.

I find a stairwell and jog down two flights to the bottom, intent on finding Lincoln and figuring out how to get the hell out of here as fast as possible, with all the people we love.

He has a helicopter. There’s no reason they can’t transport Karma in that. My aunt would definitely leave then. When I see Lincoln, that’s going to be the first thing I ask him.

Except I can’t get to the ER because the hallway is completely blocked.

Shit.

I turn around to retrace my steps, but instead of heading up the stairs again, I have a different idea. If I can get out of the hospital, I can come around the side to get back in through the front to the ER that way. I turn down the hallway that leads toward radiology, which is already completely empty, and scan for the nearest exit.