Chapter 6 · Survival Menu - Chapter 6: The Bowl Was Dirty

The water's still boiling when I grab the bowl. My fingers scream. I don't let go.

The strip-search starts in an hour. They'll check every seam, every pocket, every fold of cloth we own. I need this gone before then. The recipe page is folded inside the bowl's false bottom, right where I shoved it three nights ago when the third prince left it on the cutting board. My mother's handwriting. Her last batch of chrysanthemum wine.

The porcelain cracks under my grip. Boiling water spills across my wrist. I bite my tongue hard enough to taste copper.

"You okay?" Qiu's voice comes from behind me. Too close.

I don't turn. Can't. My burnt fingers are prying at the bowl's base, trying to pop the false bottom before the heat makes the glue permanent. The edge of the page is already curling, browning at the corner.

"Jin?" She touches my shoulder.

I flinch. The bowl hits the floor. Porcelain everywhere.

The page skitters across wet stone. Qiu's eyes track it. She's faster than me. Always has been. Her hand moves.

I grab her wrist. Hard.

She freezes. Looks at my hand, then at my face. I never touch anyone. Ever.