Life at the Graves household was… lively.
"Elian! Get down from there!" shouted Carol, watching her son perched on the roof with a tablecloth tied around his neck like a cape.
"Don't worry, Mommy, I know I can fly!" the boy declared—and jumped from the second floor.
Carol ran as fast as she could and managed—just barely—to catch him before he hit the ground.
"Sweetheart, don't you ever do that again! How many times have I told you not to do dangerous things?!" she scolded, her heart pounding like a drum.
"But Mom…" Elian began, but his mother cut him off immediately.
"No, no, no, young man. It's wrong, and that's final. You can't go around thinking you're immortal," said Carol—ironically, since she was the immortal one.
And so, she took him inside and grounded him, forbidding him from playing outside. Later, when she went to the market—leaving Elian under Alessia and Yasira's care—she joined a small group of neighborhood women chatting about rising prices, how they'd make it to the end of the month, and in quieter tones, the kidnappings that had become more frequent.
For months now, the number of missing children between the ages of five and seventeen had been growing. They vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed. No one spoke of it openly, but everyone knew who was behind it: the Order of the Black Mantle—a criminal organization nearly as old as the city itself. Kidnappings, assassinations, theft, extortion, trafficking… morality meant nothing to them.
"Hey, have you all heard?" asked Roxane, one of the women.
"Heard what? Don't start gossip and then stop halfway, Roxy," said Alya.
"Last week they kidnapped the Middles' son. He went out to play with his school friends and never came back. The other kids said they left him near his house, but he never made it home."
"That's awful…" murmured Jerudith. "I can't imagine how Sofia must feel. No wonder we haven't seen her around the market."
"Yes… what a tragedy," added Carol quietly, hiding her growing unease. No one in the neighborhood knew about her Elyth—or her immortality. If the kidnappings ever reached Saint Deux, she'd be the only one capable of fighting back. But that would mean exposing everything she'd kept secret. And her greatest fear wasn't being discovered—it was losing her son.
Elian had started spending more time outdoors with his friends, and the thought of her seven-year-old being snatched away haunted her.
Minutes later, she returned home. As soon as she opened the door, she heard Elian explaining something to his babysitters with deep seriousness.
"…and that's why, Aunt Ale and Aunt Yas, the rock would totally lose against the bicycle," he concluded proudly.
"Wow! That's fascinating, Elian," said Alessia, pretending to be amazed.
"Yes, I had no idea that was possible," added Yasira, struggling to hold back laughter.
"Did I miss something?" Carol asked, leaning against the doorway with a knowing smile.
"MOM!" shouted Elian, running into her arms.
"Mrs. Graves," the two women greeted in unison. After a bit of small talk about how well Elian had behaved, they said their goodbyes, leaving mother and son alone.
"Mommy, Mommy," said Elian, rummaging through the scattered papers and crayon drawings on the floor. "Look! This is you and me." He showed her a drawing of them together—Carol with a cape, and him flying beside her. "It's to say sorry for earlier… I didn't mean to scare you. Aunt Ale and Aunt Yas already explained it to me." He lowered his head shyly.
"Oh, sweetheart…" Carol knelt and hugged him, holding the drawing tight. "Don't worry, Mommy wasn't angry—just scared. Seeing you jump like that… you almost turned yourself into a pancake."
"Elian pancake, hahaha," laughed her son. "I don't think I'd taste very good."
"Oh, really?" Carol teased, before smothering his face with kisses as he squirmed and laughed. "Alright, time for dinner. How about… pizza?" she said, picking up the phone.
"YES!" he shouted, jumping with excitement.
Later that evening, after dinner, they sat by the window, gazing at the sky.
"Elian…" Carol broke the silence. "From now on, you're not going out alone. Bad things are happening, and I don't want anything to happen to you." She avoided mentioning the kidnappings—or that one of the missing children was one of his classmates. "From now on, I'll go with you, at least for a little while."
"What? But Mom, all my friends go out alone. It'd be weird if you came with me! Besides, I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm super strong—I can beat a hundred men easily!" he said with a proud grin.
"Hahaha, I know, sweetheart. But no arguing. And remember what I've always told you, and I hope you're still following it: don't hit anyone. Always try to talk first, never fight without reason, and…"
"And never, ever hit a woman," Elian sighed. "Yes, Mom. I don't fight, I always talk to my friends… but if someone really provokes me, I might not hold back," he added with a pout.
"Oh, my brave boy…" Carol smiled and pulled him close. "You know what? Let's go to the park—right now."
Elian blinked in surprise.
"Yes," she insisted. "Let's make it a routine: every night before bed, we'll go for a short walk together. What do you say?"
"YES!" he replied, bursting with excitement.
And so, mother and son went out into the night. They walked around the park, played on the swings, and laughed under the moonlight. It was a simple moment, yet unforgettable for both. When they returned home, Elian didn't complain anymore about his mother accompanying him when he went out to play. He simply fell asleep, peacefully, in the bed beside hers—while Carol lay awake, already thinking of how to protect him from whatever might come.