FIVE

    When Mars woke, the room was bright with morning light. He had slept so deeply he momentarily forgot where he was, thinking he was ten years old again, his mother gently shaking his shoulder to wake him for school.

    "Just five more minutes," he mumbled, his eyes still closed, grabbing the arm attached to the hand on his shoulder and nuzzling against it.

    Keith, who had been about to rouse him, could only stare, dumbfounded. Deciding against his usual behaviour, he simply pulled his arm away and left the boy to his slumber. He dressed in his formal attire; a white linen kilt, a leather corselet, and a heavy gold collar, and went to meet with his father as appointed.

    As he approached the king's study, Charlotte emerged, her cheeks flushed. She was surprised to see him and offered a deep bow, a warm, practiced smile on her lips. "I was delivering breakfast to your father, Your Highness," she explained, her voice a little too breathless.

    Keith ignored her and entered. King Amenhotep Kemet-Osman, a man with the same fiery hair but streaked with silver and a face carved with the lines of absolute power, stood by a large map of the kingdom.

    "Keith," the king's voice was a low rumble, devoid of warmth. "The eastern border. Our men there report increased ghoul activity."

    Keith took the scroll, his jaw tightening. "And that is my duty to attend to because? You dispatch the Royal Guard for mere ghoul-clearing, Father? This is a task for provincial hunters, no?"

    The king's eyes narrowed. "Do you question my orders? The eastern border is a mjor trade route for my- our kingdom, so you will go"

    "The eastern border is too beneath my station, something is telling me you just want to get me out of the capital... before the Grandmasters' event, i presume?" Keith countered, his tone dangerously flat.

    "Your station is where I decree it to be!" the king snapped, slamming a fist on the table. "You will go, and you will not return until the trade routes are secure. Is that understood?"

    Keith gritted his teeth, the muscle in his jaw twitching. "Understood." He turned on his heel, the dismissal clear. The need for violence simmered under his skin, a familiar heat.

    So, before heading to the stables, he sought a release. He found Charlotte waiting in the corridor, grabbed her by the waist, and carried her back to his room, his mouth locked on hers in a brutal, claiming kiss. When they entered, Mars was already awake, sitting up in the bed, his hair a riot of curls. Three pairs of eyes met, all shocked.

    "Ah..." Keith had forgotten about the boy. He set Charlotte down.

    "I'll leave then," Mars stammered, his cheeks flushing a brilliant pink as he scrambled off the bed and rushed past them.

    Charlotte glared at his retreating back. He wasn't a threat, but a nasty, coiling feeling settled in her gut. But that wasn't important now. What mattered was the drug she had slipped from a hidden ring into Keith's mouth during their kiss. And sure enough, it was taking effect. Her past in the brothels back in her hometown had taught her many things, including how to handle the most extreme of clients. It was this lack of inhibition that had first drawn the Mad Demon to her. She would use every skill to trap him, to make him crave only her.

    'As Keith pushed her onto the rumpled sheets...'

    A specific part of the book slammed into Mars's mind. He was certain Charlotte had just drugged Keith. This was a plan to stall for time and implement her actual plan.

    And as if on cue, Keith emerged from his room, his movements slightly less coordinated, his eyes glazed with a forced lust. He approached Mars, who was lingering uncertainly in the hall.

    Mars knew he shouldn't do anything. He wanted to melt into the shadows. But the hypothesis solidified in his mind: was he sent her to... rescue Keith?

    'Yeh... let's think about it. This is basically like one of those transmigration Web novels, as unbelievable as it is, I am definitely inside that strange book i read in mom's library.'

    "Hmmm... what if... this is some kind of rewrite," Mars was slowly trying to make sense of whatever was going on. This all felt like a dream, but that Mad Demon had almost choked the life out of him, and it had hurt as hell. It definitely was not a dream.

    In several webnovels, the essence of a rewrite was to change the major plots, and most commonly, the ending- especially saving the original story's main character. He shuddered, realizing the terrifying conclusion. He had been sent here, armed with all the knowledge of future events, to act as the crazy prince's guardian angel.

    As Keith moved to walk past him, Mars stepped directly into his path. "I'm going with you," he declared.

    Keith raised a brow, half-amused, half-annoyed by the obstruction. "Let me go with you," Mars pleaded, his light blue eyes wide and earnest.

    Keith laughed, a short, harsh sound. "And where do you think I am going, hmm?" Keith wondered within himself why he didnt just shoved this annoying kid aside, but instead was actually listening to him.

    "To the borders, of course."

    Keith's countenance changed in an instant. The vague amusement vanished, replaced by a predator's focus. His muscles flexed as he glared down at Mars. This mission was known only to him, his father, and his most trusted men. "How do you know that?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

    Mars scrambled for a believable lie. He couldn't say he had read it in a book. "Something is going to happen," he said, his voice trembled a bit. "Something that will put you and your men in danger. Just trust me. Please, let me go with you." He grabbed Keith's arm again, his eyes watering as he deployed the full force of his puppy-dog stare.

    Keith had never known such a tactic to work on him. It never had. It should not now. His hands flexed, the instinct to break the boy's arm and run him through with his sword warring with a profound, inexplicable curiosity. He looked at the pale face, the trembling lips, the desperate, honest fear in those blue eyes.

    Against every fibre of his being, he nodded.

    "Yes!" Mars's face lit up with genuine, relieved happiness, and Keith found himself even more intrigued. What, by all the gods of the river and the sand, did this little man have in mind?

    The warriors of the Royal Guard watched in silent confusion as the strange, pale boy with the mass of black curls climbed into the carriage alongside their prince. Only the two guards from the night of his arrival recognized him. As the convoy began to move, the two whispered to their comrades, their hushed voices weaving a tale of the foreigner who had appeared from nowhere and now seemed to have the prince’s unpredictable favor. They were all familiar with their master’s carnal appetites and assumed this was a new favorite, a temporary diversion. But they had never seen Keith bring such a companion on a military mission. It was unprecedented.