We trail Emily across the infirmary floor to a small cot in the corner, right by an exit doorway. Nice safety precautions; anyone could drag her down the back staircase and no one would be the wiser. What in blazes is that about? This girl is the only thing keeping Maxon away from the tortures of Hell. How dare they shove her in a corner?
“Her vitals are excellent,” says Emily brightly.
“Who decided to put her here?” asks Lincoln coolly. The ice behind his stare tells me he’s inches away from losing it.
“The Head Nurse. This is what we always do when someone doesn’t have a house.”
“Go find the Head Nurse.” My eyes glow red with demonic rage. “Now.”
Emily lets out a little ‘eep’ noise and scurries away.
Lincoln and I turn our attention to Hildy, who’s sitting on the bed with her eyes closed, knees curled against her chest, and her back resting against the white tiled wall. She looks asleep.
“Hildy should be linked into Maxon’s mind,” I explain. “So, she shouldn’t know we’re here, unless—” I exhale a long sigh.
“Their bond is broken,” finishes Lincoln.
“Right.” I cross my fingers behind my back. Please let the link still be in place.
I gently touch Hildy’s shoulder. “Hello?” She doesn’t so much as flinch. My shoulders slump with relief. “I don’t think she knows we’re here. They’re still connected.”
“I wish we could talk to her.” Lincoln sits down on Hildy’s cot. “Maybe there’s a way to communicate without breaking their bond.” He closes his eyes for a long moment. “I can sense something, Myla.”
“What?”
“Our minds were connected before, back in the audience chamber. Maybe I can use that now.” He sets Hildy’s palm onto his own. “It’s me, Lincoln. I’m here with Myla.”
Hildy immediately opens her eyes, her all white gaze staring blindly forward. Her hand jerks away from his. “I can’t talk to you for long.” Her voice comes out dead and lifeless. “It might break my link to Maxon.”
Lincoln opens his eyes and steps back from the bed like it was on fire. He takes my hand in his. “You can stop whenever you’re ready, Hildy.”
“Oh, I will, don’t worry about that.” Hildy moves her hands around, miming the shape of walls about her. “I’m in a metal box. A prison. Armageddon says it’s like the one he kept Xavier in, only smaller. Do you know what I mean?”
I frown. “I see your hands moving around, but I’m not one hundred percent sure what you’re doing.”
“This’ll be easier if I show you.” Hildy raises her right hand and her pointer finger glows with purple light. Like she did back in the Wastelands, Hildy draws a circle in the air. A Looking Glass.
I gasp. Hildy’s using magic and show us Maxon. My breath hitches with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. I’ll see my baby again.
A purple haze fills the oval Looking Glass. Bit by bit, an image appears in the violet mist. It’s Maxon, crouched inside a metal box.
“Do you see him?” asks Hildy.
Lincoln smiles with relief. “Yes, we can see our boy.”
As Hildy speaks, Maxon’s mouth forms the same words. His body language is the same as well. He stoically leans against the back wall of the box-prison, just like how Hildy rests against the tiles behind her own cot. His eyes are all white, too.
“Has he woken up at all?” I ask.
“Not yet,” says Hildy. “He’s fine for now.”
The Looking Glass hovers in the air before Hildy. Stepping up to it, Lincoln sets his pointer fingers at opposite sides of the magical oval, the same way that Hildy did back in the Wastelands. He draws his hands together, bringing the Looking Glass down to a small size. “Show me your wrist, Myla.”
A warm sense of love blooms through my chest. Lincoln wants me to have the Looking Glass. My husband’s never offered me a more precious gift.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Positive,” he says, his voice gentle. With careful movements, Lincoln sets the enchanted oval onto the inside of my right wrist. There, the spell settles until it looks like a detailed, shifting tattoo in purple ink. Some of the heavy worry seeps off my shoulders. Now, I can see Maxon whenever I want. I’m unsure whether to smile or cry, so I do a little bit of both.
“I’m wearing the Looking Glass, Hildy.” My finger lovingly traces the circle on my wrist. “Thank you so much.”
The lines of Hildy’s face turn solemn. “That spell will only last as long as I do.”
My body freezes at her words. “Meaning?”
“Once I lose my connection with Maxon, it will disappear.”
Her words send a jolt of terror through my throat. “How long do we have?”
“A day, maybe two.” Hildy’s voice lowers to a whisper. “So far, we have an advantage. Since I’m so quiet, Armageddon figures Maxon is asleep. He’s waiting until our boy wakes up to try anything. Says he likes his guests to be well rested before he shows them a good time.”
My hands ball into angry fists. What a sick bastard.
“Where are you?” asks Lincoln.