Chapter 12 Frozen Headlines

• The snow no longer melted on contact.
• It clung to the roofs of homes, nestled into the crooks of windowpanes, and blanketed the roads that once shimmered with the sweat of summer heat. Talawan had not seen sunshine in days—not true warmth, at least. The gray sky pressed low over the city like a heavy breath, and though the snowflakes were still soft, more fell each hour.
• The last few days had been eerily quiet. Radios buzzed less with laughter and more with reports—each one colder, more urgent than the last. Even Lucy, who had spent years preparing for this, felt the tension settle into her bones.