n her laptop screen. There was no joy in he

wl. The physical vibration reminded her that th

efrigerator door open. The harsh yellow light illuminated a depressing sight: a

d against the roof of her mouth, but she chewed mechanically, forcing i

w legal pad and a thick black Sharpie, an

er down hard and wrote: SHELTER. She underlined i

apocalypse. The deep freeze. The endless, bone-crushing c

lips cracked and bleeding. And she remembered Kendal walking past her, wearing

nging around Kendal's neck that day. A dull, worn-out gold

out the magical, infinite space hidden inside the metal. A space that held entire warehouses of f

plastic casing creaked. The tip of the marker pie

that necklace. It wasn'

e only physical tether to her real bloodline. But on Kendal's sixteenth birthday, Sharon had ripped it

She hated her past self. She hated how weak she had been, handing over a lit

location of the necklace. It was sitting in

ical, paranoid brat. If she noticed it missing, she would call the cops. A police investigati

e and opened the browser, typing furiousl

round studio in the arts district that specialized in creating flawless, indistinguish

e back of the chair, snatched her

the slick, rain-soaked streets of Seattle.

assed the display cases entirely. She walked straight to the back workbench w

owed him a rough sketch she had dr

his head. "Custom mold. Ancient engra

out two thick stacks of crisp hundred-dollar bills she had jus

"I don't need a replica. I need the most obnoxious, flashy, m

instantly dropped the ring, turned around

as a thick, gold-plated chain holding a massive, flawlessl

k. A cold smile touched her lips. It was perfect. She knew

jeweler, grabbed the velvet box

od on the wet pavement, pulled out her phone, and d