The Twelfth Keeper Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Belle Malory

  She slowly rolled onto her back, taking several deep breaths. Surprisingly, she didn’t bat an eye at the roar of the ocean. It didn’t disconcert her the way it normally did.

  Orange and pink hues streaked the sky. She stared at it as she breathed deeply, thinking about how much she missed this, the sky, and how beautiful it was. She wondered if other planets had skies as beautiful as this one.

  Despite having felt like she ran a marathon, her energy wasn’t spent. She stood up and looked around. No one else was in sight. A large wave crashed against the shore, hissing as the water drew back again.

  Kennedy stared at the ocean. She suddenly knew why she was here. Intense resolve rushed through her, erasing her doubts and fears. She slipped out of her sandals and walked towards the ocean. As she crossed the beach, she stripped down to her bra and underwear, tossing everything aside without caring where they landed.

  Water skimmed over her bare feet. She kept going, refusing to slow down. Every step made her heart beat faster, but it wasn’t out of fear. Water rushed her belly. She gasped as it struck her face. She wiped her nose and licked the salt from her lips, pushing in deeper. Nothing would deter her this time.

  In that moment, she knew what she was chasing after. Ducking under the surface, she stretched out her arms, allowing the water to saturate every part of her body.

  This was what she chased. This thing she once feared so much. Still feared. Maybe her father’s death wasn’t the only reason the water frightened her. Maybe she was terrified to admit she loved the same thing that had taken him away. And maybe out of guilt, she let fear win most of the time.

  She swam deeper. Tingles soared up and down her spine with every stroke. Energy she had never felt before burst from her center. She had never felt stronger in her life. The water was choppy. The waves should’ve tossed her weight effortlessly, but with a wave of her hand she bended the water to her will. When she wanted to swim faster, she felt it push her along. When she wanted to slow down, it stilled around her. She soared through its belly, spiraling and twisting like a playful dolphin.

  Eventually, the need for air pressed against her chest. She surged towards the surface, water propelling her up. Air hit her face, and she gasped, pulling it into her lungs. When she looked down, she saw a fountain of water had lifted her body high above the surface and was holding her there. She laughed, unable to believe something so surreal could be possible.

  Her little jet stream of water slowly sank back into the ocean, and she continued to delve into the world she had denied for so long, treating it like her own private playground. She danced inside its depths, pushing water around with ease, and probably scaring the hell out of the surrounding fish.

  She wasn’t sure how long she swam, maybe minutes, possibly hours, but when she resurfaced for the last time, she finally felt spent. She finally felt exhausted from the inside out. She finally felt…alive.

  Thirteen

  She was in love.

  Love.

  That had to be what this was. Ashley once told her that indifference was the opposite of love, not hate. That was why people often referred to the thin line that existed between the two emotions.

  Suddenly everything made sense. Kennedy had never felt indifferent toward the ocean. It had always been in the background of her mind, haunting her with both good and horrific memories. She had hated it—with a passion. But now that her fear had faded, the same intense passion fueled her love.

  It was unexpected. Shocking, even. She felt befriended by a force she didn’t know how to explain. All she knew was that the energy behind that force was powerful and beautiful and breathtaking.

  Her brace still laid on the ground where she’d thrown it. Kennedy powered it on, feeling a little foolish for tossing it aside so recklessly.

  Phoenix’s face lit up the screen. A message waited from him. He must have called her as soon as he landed in Olympus.

  She hesitated for a moment before listening. “Hey, Kenn. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the news yet, but…” He paused, sighing. “I’m guessing you’ve seen it, and that’s why you’re not answering. Listen, I need to talk to you. I need to explain. So please call me, okay? I’ll answer no matter what time it is.”

  Kennedy switched her brace off again, deciding to keep it that way for a while. It hadn’t escaped her attention that he hadn’t denied anything. He used the word explain, but she didn’t want an explanation. What she wanted was to hear that it wasn’t true. And if calling him meant she couldn’t hear that, well…then she wasn’t ready to call him yet.

  ~ ~

  Phoenix checked his brace one more time before he started the briefing. She still hadn’t called, messaged, or anything. He swore to God he was going to find out who was responsible for releasing that statement to the media, and as soon as he did, he was going to rip out their damn throat.

  Only six keepers were in attendance; the rest were on Earth visiting their families. The rest would have to manage without them. Everyone who was here needed to help today if they were going to get to the bottom of Project 27.

  Fang helped him to present the facts. They displayed pictures, names, and information about each person whose name was on that list. “Find out whatever you can about Ryder Industries,” Phoenix said. “We’re basically running on nothing right now, so any data you collect will help.”

  “Also, we need to figure out where Dominika is,” Fang added. “As most of you know, her family was murdered just before she was discovered, which leaves us guessing where to look for her. DOE agents checked her old house, but it’s empty. It’s been that way for years.”

  “I know how you can find her,” Hoshu muttered from the back of the room. “Take the psycho path.”

  “Shut it, Hoshu,” Fang snapped. “You’re not funny.”

  Another keeper, Davaris, spoke up. “I still don’t get how you lost her, man. She’s a person, not a set of keys.”

  Phoenix rubbed his temples, trying to stay patient. “We don’t have time to debate how it happened,” he explained. “Technically Nika is a missing person, which means the longer she’s gone, the less of a chance we have to find her. DOE has been scouring St. Petersburg, but they’re coming up with nothing. We know her better than anyone, so maybe we can figure out where she’s hiding. Every minute counts, so let’s get to work.”

  The class dispersed, each keeper on their way to investigate. Phoenix powered down the projector, surprised when he looked up and saw that Fang was still there. She crossed her arms over her chest, resting her weight to one hip.

  “What’s the matter with you?” he asked.

  “Every minute counts,” she mimicked. “Which leaves me wondering why you wasted time in Florida.”

  “You know why. Mrs. Little was in Florida—lights off!” He left the room, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. It wasn’t.

  “Mrs. Little wasn’t in Amelia Island.” Fang trailed behind him down the hall. “Where you stayed overnight.”

  “I stopped there for Kennedy.”

  “Obviously,” she said. “What I want to know is why.”

  Phoenix spun on his heel, facing Fang. She arched a brow at him, waiting for his answer.

  “She’s my girlfriend, Fang. And she wanted to be included.”

  “Girlfriend…” Her face contorted into a mixture of shock and anger. “Girlfriend! Tell me you’re not serious, Nix.”

  “Look, I know we’re expected to be goddamn saints around here, but you of all people, Fang, I expect to be my friend, okay? I just need you to be my friend.”

  She stood there, unmoving, as her gaze slowly dropped to the floor. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered.

  He didn’t know what to make of her reaction. “The general idea of friendship includes you being happy for me and vice versa.”

  Fang shook her head. “How could you, Nix?” Her gaze bored into him as if he had betrayed her on some huge level, but he had no idea what he could’ve done wron
g. She swallowed, her throat constricting, and she almost looked like she was about to cry. In all the years he had known her, she never once cried.

  He shifted uncomfortably, unused to this version of Fang. “Look, I know Kennedy isn’t your favorite person—”

  “That is not what this is about.” She groaned, exasperated, and looked up at the ceiling.

  “Then tell me what it is about,” he said, softening his voice.

  “You are so dense.” She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. “How can you not see that I have feelings for you? In all this time, how could you not see?”

  Phoenix took a step back, stunned. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. Bloody hell.

  She looked at him and laughed once, miserably. “God, you really didn’t know.”

  “Fang,” he said, clueless as to where he should begin. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

  “I know, I know. My timing sucks.” She turned to leave, and then whirled back around to face him. “You know what—screw my timing. You should’ve known, Nix. I was—am—in love with you.”

  Words were impossible.

  He had no idea what to say. She told him he should have known, but he never even suspected. Looking back, he supposed there were signs. Fang’s unwavering devotion to him surpassed any loyalty she established with the other keepers. But he had written it off as the deeper connection keepers felt within their elemental circles. Their shared element united them, it tied them together with Davaris in a way only the three of them could understand, and it gave their friendship purpose. That’s all he ever thought existed between them. Deep, binding friendship within the circle. Never love.

  “Say something,” she pleaded. “Tell me you felt something too.”

  “Jesus, Fang…” He raked his hand through his hair, searching for the right words. “I don’t think of you like that. I love you, you know I do, but not like that.”

  She stared at him with so much agony in her eyes that he had to look away. Phoenix felt helpless seeing her like that. He didn’t know how to comfort her or if he should.

  “It’s not fair.” Her voice held an impenetrable amount of conviction. “Kennedy is supposed to be a fling. Another Hephsa Hannigan. Meaningless. And now you’re calling her your girlfriend? It’s not fair.”

  Fang’s shoulders slumped. “You didn’t give me a chance. You never looked at me as more than just a friend.”

  She walked towards him. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his chest. “You owe me my chance,” she whispered. “Thirty seconds. That’s all I’m asking. Thirty seconds to prove to you that there’s something more here.”

  He wrapped his hand around hers. “Fang, this thing with Kennedy—it’s not meaningless. I can’t mess it up.” He pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry.”

  She kissed him anyway. She stood on her tiptoes, draped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips against his.

  He instantly started to pull away but stopped. Shaming her wasn’t the only thing he would do if he ended this now. After everything was said and done, she would still believe she was in love with him. He wanted her to see that she wasn’t.

  A few more seconds passed, and then Fang backed away. “You didn’t even try.” Her pale face turned red at the realization.

  “When it’s right—you shouldn’t have to.”

  She lifted her knee, jabbing him square in the gut. Out of all the strange things Fang had done, Phoenix wasn’t surprised by the blow. Doubling over, he coughed several times as he tried to catch his breath. The girl had a hammer for a kneecap.

  He wasn’t angry. Probably should’ve been, since it hurt like hell. But he’d seen it coming and could’ve moved if he wanted to. Instead, he let her have that one. Fang wouldn’t be Fang if she couldn’t take her anger out on someone. Better him than the others.

  He only hoped it could dent some of the hurt he caused her.

  Fourteen

  As the week wore on, Kennedy tried to keep herself busy. She pretended to take a fashion stand against braces, opting to leave hers in the drawer of her nightstand. It remained powered off. Spending time with her family was her top priority anyway, not worrying about what was going on in Olympus.

  Most of her activities were spent with her mom or Lincoln. She and Reagan were still at odds, and well, Hunter no longer acknowledged her existence.

  It wasn’t all bad though. Ashley taught her how to cook fried chicken. Kennedy took it upon herself to watch the whole process studiously. When she forgave Phoenix—if she ever forgave him—she wanted to be able to replicate the recipe. Matilda was a great cook, but she was almost too perfect. Ashley, on the other hand, usually guessed measurements by looking at them, and if she was out of one ingredient, she’d find a similar one to replace it with. When Kennedy asked her mom why she did this, the response she got was, “Because that’s how you learn, baby. It’s the little imperfections that count. When people taste a dish you cooked, you want them to walk away knowing that’s what Kennedy’s food tastes like.”

  That made her smile. Who would have thought that only a few weeks ago she was preparing for the apocalypse, and today she was learning to cook with her mom? Something about the idea lifted her spirits. She felt grateful to Professor Mason for letting her have this moment, however insignificant it was. To her, it was everything.

  Later that night, Kennedy decided to be useful and do some research on Dominika. She curled up in her bed and pressed the little button on her brace. Dozens of beeps and flashing lights went off, letting her know she had a heap of messages waiting for her. She frowned, seeing almost all of them were from Phoenix. She wasn’t ready to go there yet.

  Within a few seconds, a little blue light signaled. Kennedy answered it. “How have you been, my trusty metal friend?”

  “How dare you,” Matilda seethed. “How dare you turn me off for nearly an entire week. What were you thinking?”

  Kennedy chuckled. “Don’t take it personally, Matilda. I needed some alone time.”

  “Alone time—what is this? A human thing?” She sounded thoroughly disgusted. “Come on, cupcake. Give me something I can process. Was it hormones? That time of the month?”

  “I just wasn’t feeling like my usual self, okay? I needed some space. People get like that every once in a while.”

  “Ah ha! It’s boy troubles.”

  Kennedy blanched. How the hell had she guessed so accurately? “No, that’s not true.” She swallowed, hoping Matilda would buy it.

  “Save it, cupcake. My estimations are too high, and you end up sounding pathetic when you try to lie.”

  Kennedy gripped the cold metal in her hand tightly, wanting to bash it against the wall several times. “I’m seriously considering selling you.”

  That prompted an amused laugh. “First of all, I’m priceless. And second of all, you need me too much. For instance, I’m predicting the reason you finally powered on that bracelet of yours is because you require my help.”

  “I hate that you know that.”

  Matilda laughed again. “Tell me what you want already.”

  Kennedy went on to tell the android what happened with Dominika and Phoenix in Russia. After she was done, she asked Matilda to help her with the research. “I think I’ll start with the murder of her family,” she said. “The other keepers are familiar with the story, but I’ve never heard the details. Could you locate an old wave about the incident?”

  “Can I?” Matilda scoffed. “I located the files as you were speaking. Pull up the video feed on your brace.”

  Kennedy did just that, impressed with her Series Seven android’s capabilities.

  The reporters spoke Russian, but captions scrolled across the bottom of the page in English. They showed footage of Dominika’s childhood house and she watched in horror as black body bags were carried out, one by one.

  The entire family was killed, execution-style. The mom, the dad, two brothers, and two sisters. Dominika had been hiding
beneath her parent’s bed the whole time.

  Reasons for the murder were unknown. Speculations ranged from a hate crime, to a simple robbery gone wrong.

  “Robbery, my ass,” Kennedy muttered, not believing that theory for one second.

  It was worse when they showed the footage of the young Dominika. She wore little fur boots and had her blonde hair pulled into pigtails. What was she—seven, maybe eight years old? They zoomed in on her hazy, silver eyes. For such a little girl, they lacked all the innocence that should’ve been there. “Oh God.” Kennedy sniffed, trying not to lose it.

  “You turning emotional on me, cupcake?”

  She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “This is some pretty heavy stuff, Matilda. I feel bad I didn’t know. I would’ve…I dunno. Tried harder to get to know Nika or something. She’s been through so much.”

  “Did you find anything useful in there?”

  “Actually,” she said, sitting up straighter. “Can you run it back a little?”

  “Sure thing.”

  This time Kennedy focused on the captions and not the footage. She found what she was looking for halfway through the wave. “Stop it right there!”

  She read the line again, seeing the name Ryder Industries. “Her dad worked for them, Matilda.”

  There was a long pause. “Well, that’s something.”

  “Can you find out what his position was?”

  “Give me a sec. Let’s see…looks like Mr. Orlov was a...hmm. Didn’t see that one coming.”

  “I’m in suspense here!”

  “Right. Sorry. Mr. Orlov was an inventor.”

  Huh. “What did he invent?”

  “Nothing I can find. Looks like his work was kept classified.”