A Crown Cut with Salt
The you-have-seconds kind.
“Cart,” Jas said, like we’d only paused to scratch. He didn’t look at me long enough to see anything I didn’t want seen. I moved with him, one arm crossing my chest and pressing down, elbows pinned tight, shoulders slightly hunched, chin tucked, every angle chosen to erase curves and pull fabric flat. I slid my forearm under the torn wrap through the shirt and held, pressure steady, breath shallow, ribs protesting. The cart’s high edge became a shield; I kept it between me and the street, used its handle to hide the clamp of my hand.
We threaded the worst of the crowd. No guards with curiosity. No men with hands and time. The madam watched us pass and then looked a
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