The Mystery Man - Mefan

Chapter 2

-Carter-

I see them standing there. I see them smiling at me as they welcome me. My mother is at my father’s side, James is beside him, and then Will is a little further behind the rest, just like always. He is always a little further away, preferring not to be the center of attention.

My mother waves me closer. They all stand there on top of the stairs leading inside the castle. Our home. I can see her lips moving, telling me to come closer. I smile at all of them, taking the first step, but my foot freezes. It feels like it is stuck to the ground. I look up at them, seeing them turn away as they start to walk inside.

“Wait!” I call.

They don’t hear me.

They walk inside. I see the big doors closing behind them. I try to pull my leg free, but I simply cannot. It won’t move. I won’t move, and then I feel it—a hand on my shoulder.

I turn around, staring into his pitch-black eyes, a small smile on his lips. His skin is dark, and everything about him screams that he doesn’t belong here in the North. No one has such dark-colored skin.

“Mefan?”

His smile grows a little, and then I feel it, like him almost pulling me backward, even though I don’t move. Everything around me spins. The castle disappears, like my family, and then...

I sat up, shaking, and sweat broke out all over my skin. The blanket around my lower body clung to me, even though the material was thin and breathable. My hands had tightened around it, and I could even see small holes where my nails had dug through it.

I quickly let go of it and then covered my face with my hands. I felt... No, I felt nothing. Just numb. I was dead, and now I wasn’t, but I wasn’t alive either. I didn’t know how to explain what I was. I slowly moved my hands away, seeing the dark lines running over my palms, in between my fingers, and then over the back of my hands before going up my arms.

What was this? Why did I have this? This was not the skin I knew. This was not me, but now it was. What did I do now?

I was a prince. The fourth in line for the throne. Not that I had ever really wanted it. I had seen James and Will work hard enough. Will was, in a way, a backup should something happen to James. The rest of us only received a little training, and I didn’t like it very much. It was boring to be king, clearly, and I was happy I never had to sit on the throne.

Instead, I used my time to have the time of my life—bedding women, joking around with my brothers, training with them, going riding... I went to war a few times as well, but I would rather not think about that.

I threw the blanket away and walked naked over to the balcony. My room was facing The Great Blue Sea. I couldn’t see it from here, but I knew it was there. I could travel to The Sea Islands from there. If I had heard correctly, Catla was now ruling there, living peacefully with her son. Criseus’s child, but she had been allowed to stay there since she wanted no war or trouble.

I wouldn’t mind traveling over there, just seeing what that world was like. It certainly had to be different than this one, right?

Sadly, I wasn’t going anywhere. I had been thinking about traveling home, seeing Laelia and my brothers, and telling them I was alive, but I couldn’t. I somehow found myself bound to the mystery man. Mefan had brought me back, and this was the consequence of it.

I sighed, leaning my arms on the railing and just staring into the dark night. For some reason, the sun no longer gave me much strength, but the night made me feel renewed and powerful. It felt like coming home, almost. Which was a strange feeling. The North was my home, not this strange land with red sand and even stranger people living in it.

I pushed away from the railing, going over to grab a blanket and wrap it around my waist before going over to a small jug that still had some wine in it. I poured it into a cup before returning to the balcony. I leaned against the railing once more, only to soon feel like someone was watching me.

I turned my head, and on the next balcony, he stood. Usually, he was always covered, but now he wore nothing but a pair of pants, his dark chest bare, and even his hair was no longer covered. It was longer than I had expected, reaching down to his shoulder, and had a dark color. The soft breeze blew through it, making it come alive in the night.

A long moment passed as we looked at each other. It was strange. Whenever he looked at me, I found my heart beat a little faster. No, it was more like it came to life.

I slowly stood up straight, and his eyes ran over me, from my eyes and down my body, over my bare chest, and for some reason, it felt like something was going on between us, like a force pulling us toward one another... a pull.

It was almost electric, and I had no idea how to explain it. I had never before felt anything like it, and then his usual cruel smile spread across his lips. The left side of his mouth curled upward. He crossed his broad arms over his chest, and then he slowly turned around, walking inside again, leaving me confused about what had happened.

This was not normal! It had to do with the fact that he had brought me back. How else did I explain my racing heart, the goosebumps on my skin, or the fact that my throat felt so dry that I downed the rest of the wine? How else?

I ran one of my hands over my face before rubbing my eyes with two fingers, just trying to shake this feeling... this... this need almost. I found myself almost wanting to go over there, but to do what? What was happening to me?