Ari woke to the sound of soft scraping against the windowpane. She blinked awake, groggy and annoyed, then froze. The moonlight was still spilling over the backyard, but something seemed off. The wind was unnaturally still, and there was a faint shimmer near the edge of the yard, like heat rising from asphalt—but this was grass.
She sat up slowly, careful not to wake Mika, and pushed aside the blanket. Her eyes narrowed. No… it's nothing. Just imagination, she told herself, though the tiny hairs on her arms stood up.
Then she saw movement.
A shadow flickered across the lawn—a shadow that shouldn't exist. It wasn't one of the trees, it wasn't a stray animal. It moved too fluidly. Smooth, silent, and deliberate. And it was heading toward the small vegetable garden, where Kael had planted seedlings only last week.
Ari's heart thudded in her chest. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. The shadow froze. Then, without warning, the plants closest to the edge of the garden bent slightly backward, as if an invisible hand had gently brushed them aside.
Ari swallowed hard. "No… no way…"
Before she could react, the shadow dissipated like smoke caught in the wind. And standing there, perfectly calm, was Kael Ryven. His hand rested on the edge of the garden, but nothing appeared disturbed. Not a leaf out of place. Not a blade of grass bent. Yet the air had a residual chill, faintly prickling Ari's senses.
Kael turned his head slightly, almost casually, and their eyes met. "Morning, Ari," he said softly, as though he hadn't just done something impossible.
Ari froze, then quickly sat back down on the bed. "Uh… morning," she mumbled. He saw me… somehow.
Breakfast was silent but tense. Ari avoided looking at Kael too directly, yet she couldn't help sneaking glances. Mika, on the other hand, was oblivious—or too excited to care.
"Did you see him last night? The shadow?" Mika asked between bites of toast. "He—he didn't even touch the plants! I swear! I saw it from the window!"
Ari leaned closer, whispering. "Mika… did you see it too, or is your imagination running wild?"
Mika's eyes widened. "I'm telling the truth! You didn't see it?"
Ari shook her head. She didn't want to admit that she had—though what she saw wasn't exactly what Mika claimed. The shadow… the movement… the feeling of wrongness in the air… it had been real. But real in a way she couldn't explain.
Kael, sipping his coffee quietly, didn't react. He didn't comment. He just sat there, composed, reading a newspaper. But Ari felt it again—the subtle pressure in the air, the sense that he knew what she had seen. Not just that, but how she had seen it.
She made a mental note: this wasn't normal.
Later that morning, Ari and Mika were walking to school when a low hum vibrated through the pavement. Ari stopped, her eyes scanning the empty street.
"Do you feel that?" she asked Mika.
Mika paused mid-step. "Feel what?"
Ari crouched slightly, sensing the subtle distortion in the air. The hum grew faintly louder, almost imperceptible unless you paid attention. Then the shadow appeared again—not solid, but flickering across the edges of the street.
Ari grabbed Mika's hand. "Don't… look at it directly. Just—just keep walking."
Before Mika could protest, Kael appeared at the end of the street, standing perfectly still. No steps, no sound, no warning. And yet, in the fraction of a second it took Ari to notice him, the shadow vanished completely.
Kael's gaze followed them as they passed. Not threatening—just measured. Protective.
Ari's stomach churned. How does he do that? How can he appear out of nowhere?
At school, nothing seemed different. Teachers droned on about homework and schedules, but Ari's mind refused to focus. The previous night and morning kept replaying in her head. Every move, every moment of silence from Kael felt like a puzzle she couldn't solve.
During lunch, Mika leaned close. "Ari… he's not normal, right?"
Ari pursed her lips. "Definitely not. And I need to figure out why."
Mika nodded. "Maybe… we should follow him after school?"
Ari considered it, then shook her head. "Not yet. We don't even know where he goes, or what we'd be looking for. And… something tells me he'd notice."
Mika frowned. "But if he's protecting us… maybe we should follow him?"
Ari sighed. "We need to be smart. Observations first. Then conclusions."
That evening, Kael's movements drew Ari's attention again. From her bedroom window, she watched him step into the backyard. He knelt near the edge of the garden, his hands hovering just above the soil. The hum returned—a soft, almost musical vibration.
The soil shifted slightly, as if moved by an invisible hand. Leaves twitched. A faint ripple of air curved around him. And then, almost imperceptibly, Ari saw the shimmer of energy: a faint black-and-silver distortion, just along the edges of the garden.
Kael's eyes were closed, his expression calm. Ari's breath caught. This wasn't just stealth. This was power.
Suddenly, a small ripple of movement startled her. From the corner of the yard, a feral-looking fox had crept close, drawn perhaps by the faint energy Kael radiated. The fox's fur bristled, its eyes narrowed.
Kael didn't flinch. His hand swept downward, and a thin, almost invisible chain of shadow extended from the ground, wrapping gently around the fox's legs without harming it. The fox froze, then after a moment, released and fled. The chain dissolved like mist.
Ari's hand pressed to her mouth. What is he?
That night, she confronted Mika quietly. "We need to watch him closer. Not to spy… but to understand. He's… more than human. Something inhuman."
Mika nodded eagerly. "I know! And I think he's good! He saved the raccoon last night too. And the fox!"
Ari frowned. "I'm not saying he's bad. I'm saying we don't understand him. And that's dangerous."
Mika tilted her head. "But he's our stepdad. Doesn't that mean he's… protecting us?"
Ari paused. The thought made her stomach twist. Yes. But protecting us from what?
Before sleep, Ari reviewed her mental notes:
Kael appears and disappears at impossible speeds.
Can manipulate the environment without touching it.
Aura or energy distortion faintly visible.
Seems aware of her and Mika's presence at all times.
Reacts to wildlife and supernatural threats instantly.
The last note made her shiver. Wildlife? Or monsters?
Outside, the backyard was still. The wind stirred, then stopped. Ari could have sworn she felt the faintest brush of air across her arm—like someone had walked past her bed. She held her breath, staring at the window.
And then she heard it: a soft, almost melodic hum.
Kael was there again. Watching. Waiting. Protecting.
And Ari realized something she couldn't yet explain: her life, Mika's life, and the world around them were no longer ordinary.
Something else had entered their lives. Something powerful. Something dangerous. Something god-level.
And their new stepdad was the center of it.