Chapter 14 · Survival Menu - Chapter 14: The Prince's Price

I couldn't let go of the token.

Yan Xiao stood two feet away, watching me turn the bloody metal over in my palm. The phoenix seal caught the moonlight. My mother's blood, fifteen years old, still rust-dark in the grooves.

"If she's alive," I said, "why poison Qiu?"

"Because someone knows you're here." His voice was flat. "And they're cleaning up."

I looked up. He wasn't looking at me anymore. His eyes were on the courtyard wall, scanning.

"You think I'm next."

"I think you've been next since the day you walked in." He stepped closer. "The only reason you're still breathing is because they don't know which mute kitchen maid you are."

My fingers closed around the token. The edge bit into my palm.

"You said no one checked her body."

"No one checked. No one looked. The order came from the Empress Dowager herself." He paused. "Burn it. Scatter it. Forget it."

"Then she could be anyone."

"She could be anyone with a scar on her left wrist and your mother's gift." His gaze came back to me, sharp. "How many people in this palace have that?"

I didn't answer.