The Twelfth Keeper Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Belle Malory

  “They still haven’t found it?”

  “They still don’t even know if it even exists. Part of me thinks they’re on a wild goose chase.”

  “Me, too. Maxwell Ryder is too crazy to be credible.”

  One of the logs shifted, and the fire crackled. The moon and stars were bright tonight, and Phoenix couldn’t help but look in the direction of Olympus.

  She was up there, most likely preparing for the mission, and it killed him. If it were any other keeper, he might feel differently. If it wasn’t Kennedy. The prospect of finding better ways to defend themselves was tempting, but he wasn’t fully convinced. They were keepers of this planet, and they were needed here. They had an unpredictable enemy breathing down their necks, and right now, he believed every keeper should be here.

  Phoenix closed his eyes, hating the sky for what it represented. Over the course of the next year, she would always be out there.

  “Just let me know when you’re done being pissed,” Davaris said. “You can call her on my brace.”

  “Shut up, Davaris.”

  Twenty-one

  Kennedy wore a green dress to the departure ceremony, a decidedly un-warrior like choice. What could she say. She was tired of pretending. This was who she was, and this was how she wanted to leave her planet, as herself.

  Alanna’s and Colton’s families had come to see them off. They were huddled together in the control room, hugging and kissing and saying their final goodbyes. The soldiers were gathered out on the dock with their loved ones, too. General Vickard put an arm around Deacon, squeezing his son proudly. The warmth radiating from him was unexpected. He’d always struck Kennedy as somewhat cold and calculated, but then again, perhaps he was playing his own part. It seemed they all had their parts to play.

  She was glad her family wasn’t here for this moment. They wouldn’t have handled it as well as Vickard. It would’ve made it so much harder, listening to them plead for her to stay again, seeing the worry in their eyes, Ashley crying uncontrollably—as she’d done last night over the satellite phone.

  No, it was better this way. The goodbyes were done and over. Now she could use what strength she had left to pick up her heavy feet and board the Pegasus without looking back. Without any regrets.

  “He didn’t show up yet, huh?”

  Kennedy swallowed back the lump in her throat as she scanned the dock. “Not yet, Mr. Hughes,” she said, keeping the emotion from entering her voice.

  “Ah, that’s too bad.”

  She turned to face Daxton. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll still grant you the interview.”

  His green eyes cut into her with a keen sense of appraisal. “I’m not going to report on your relationship, if that’s what you’re worried about. I have more integrity than that.”

  She laughed once, her guard falling. The guy must be one hell of a journalist to read into her expression so clearly. “Good. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship, so I suggest you don’t screw it up.”

  “You think of me as a friend, huh? Even after I attacked you in public?” He ran a hand over his shaggy beard, smirking.

  “Probably because you attacked me,” she mused, thinking back on that day. “I have to admit it, that took some balls.”

  “Ha. I’m still not sure what came over me…” The amusement faded from his eyes. “Just so you know, whether or not I get the piece from Jorgensen, it doesn’t matter. I want to thank you. On behalf of the world, I feel like I should thank you.”

  She shrugged, like it was no big deal. “You’re welcome.”

  A buzzer overhead sounded, and a voice on the monitor said, “Passengers and crew of the Pegasus, you may now begin boarding.”

  “Sounds like they’re calling you,” Daxton said. “I’d better go.”

  “Go ahead. If I see Phoenix, I’ll send him your way.”

  He nodded. “Safe travels, Miss Mitchell. My thoughts will be with you out there.”

  “Thank you.” She offered him a polite smile.

  Once he’d left, Kennedy sat on an empty bench in the waiting area. She still had some time. Alanna and Colton had to be put to sleep, and the crew would do multiple checks on the engines before takeoff.

  She wasn’t stalling for Phoenix’s sake.

  It was obvious he wasn’t coming; she’d already accepted that fact. Days of silence from him weren’t going to magically end now—but then why was she still sitting out here on a bench instead of boarding the ship and exploring what was to be her new home for the next several months?

  Maybe she just needed a little extra time. A few moments before her next year began.

  She stared at the ramp in a daze, imagining how it would have been if Phoenix had showed up. She could picture his probing black eyes surrounded by the sharp lines of his beautiful face. She saw his strong neck tapering down into lean muscles. Given the chance, she would’ve sunk into his strong chest and buried herself there for as long as possible. It was probably a good thing he didn’t come. She never would have wanted to leave.

  She bit down on her lower lip, hot tears threatening to spill. Ah, great. She was getting choked up in public.

  She couldn’t help it though. There was a fear in the back of her mind that this decision meant the end of her and Phoenix. That was what really bothered her. The possibility that she’d screwed things up forever. He wasn’t here to wish her goodbye. Who knew if he’d be here to say hello when she returned.

  A final boarding call sounded, and she let out a sigh.

  It was time.

  She wasn’t sure how she was going to do this. Her heart felt heavy. Her breath felt heavy. Everything felt heavy. She felt like she needed someone to carry her aboard the Pegasus.

  Professor Mason waved to her from the entrance ramp. He promised them weeks ago he’d be here to see each one of her circle members off. At least there was something comforting about how strongly Mason believed in this mission. He was excited for the three of them, and had been since the beginning. His reassurance gave her hope.

  She was almost to the ramp when she heard him call her name. It was so faint that she didn’t bother turning around, thinking it was just a figment of her imagination.

  Then she heard her name called a second time, much louder now.

  Her heart lurched. She swung around, scanning the dock for that voice. She spotted Phoenix fighting his way through the crowd, running toward her at full speed. “Kennedy, wait!”

  Thank the stars. He was here.

  She smiled so big her face hurt, her eyes brimming with tears.

  As soon as he reached her, he pulled her into his arms, his chest heaving as if he just completed a marathon. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “You’re here. That’s all that matters.”

  He cupped her face in his hands, and drew her in for a hard kiss. She felt every ounce of passion in that kiss, every word left unspoken. She kissed him back, tightening her fingers around his neck, afraid to let go.

  His lips softened, and he pulled her close, nuzzling his face against her neck. “I was scared to death I wouldn’t make it.”

  “Me, too.” She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of him against her, breathing in his scent, wanting to remember every last detail of this moment.

  “I’m still mad as hell,” he whispered, then gently kissed her just below her ear. She shivered in response, goose bumps trailing down her arms.

  “I figured.”

  “I’m angrier at you than I’ve ever been with anyone.”

  His words stung. She hadn’t expected him to forgive her just because she was leaving, but she hated knowing that he felt that way. She hated being the cause of his anger.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, feeling a tear spill down her cheek. “I’m so incredibly sorry about this, Phoenix. You are so important, and I’m betraying you.”

  Phoenix leaned back, meeting her gaze. He wiped her tears away with his thumb. “You’re not betraying me, Kennedy. You’re staying true
to yourself; I respect that.”

  “But you’re still angry.”

  “Yeah, and I will probably be angry for a long time. But I love you, Kennedy, and that trumps everything else.”

  He said it so seriously she could feel the weight of the words, knowing he meant them.

  “I love you, too.”

  “If I can find the strength to let you go, then you damn well better be back in one year’s time exactly, understand?”

  Her lips curved into a small smile.

  “I’m serious, I’m not averse to crossing the bloody universe to get to you.” He cradled her face, tucking her hair back behind her ears, then softened his tone. “You’re taking my heart with you, you know.”

  “I know,” she sighed. “I know because I’m leaving mine behind.”

  “I hope you find your answers,” he said, lightly kissing her on the forehead. “I mean that.”

  “Thank you. I hope you continue to give the department hell.”

  He grinned. “They tried to stop me in the middle of the airport. That’s what took me so long to get here. I had to melt their guns, then threatened to set fire to their rockets unless they got out of my way.”

  She shook her head. “I wish I could’ve seen the looks on their faces.”

  “You would’ve enjoyed it. But hey now, you’re turning into a model employee these days.”

  “Well, that’s not entirely true.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I need you to talk to Daxton Hughes. He’s a journalist. I gave him something important. Something that will change everything. I just hope I made the right decision…”

  Phoenix stared at her for a long moment, but didn’t ask any questions. “I’ll find the guy.”

  She pressed her lips together, scrunching her hands into small fists. “How am I supposed to do this, Phoenix? How do I walk away from you knowing I won’t be right back? How do I walk away knowing you think it’s a bad idea?”

  He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. There were circles beneath his eyes, and she knew she was the cause of them.

  “You do it because you need to, that’s how. And I’m always going to think anything that separates us is a bad idea. But it’s just one year. I can handle one year.”

  “I don’t know if I can handle it.”

  “You can,” he insisted. “But the rest of them—I want the rest of them.”

  “My years?” She smiled. “You can have them. Gladly.”

  He reached for her hands, entwining his fingers with hers. “I’m going to miss you like crazy.”

  Sheesh, she was going to cry if he kept this up. “Will you do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  She looked up at the ceiling, searching for the right words. “It’s going to sound stupid—”

  “I said anything, Kennedy. Whatever it is, stupid or not.”

  “Will you write me a letter?” She looked directly at him now. “I know that I won’t get it until I’m back, but will you write it anyway?”

  “I’ll write you a novel, if that will make you happy.”

  She stared into the depths of his black eyes and got lost in them. Somewhere in the background, someone announced a final boarding call. They were waiting on her, but all she could see was Phoenix.

  He released her hands and ran his fingertips up the sides of her arms. She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to hold onto this moment for as long as possible. Tears were slipping out now, getting caught in the fringe of her lashes. She never showed emotion like this in public, but she found she didn’t care what people thought.

  “I can’t do this,” she whispered. “My feet are like stone.”

  Phoenix’s lips were suddenly on hers, his hands in her hair. The salty tears trickled down her cheeks, and he kissed them, one by one, his lips lightly grazing the skin beneath her eyes. “I’m going to make this easier for you. I’m going to go first.”

  “It won’t help,” she said.

  He ignored that. “Think of me everyday.”

  She kept her eyes closed, nodding. “It would be impossible not to.”

  “Dream of me when you sleep.”

  She sighed, releasing her grip on his wrists. “I already do.”

  She felt him slipping away, and she started counting, figuring he was right. It may be easier not to watch him leave. Ten, nine, eight…

  “I love you, Kennedy.”

  From behind her, she could hear Mason calling her name. Air. She needed air. She took several deep breaths, trying to regain her composure.

  Mason’s hand fell on her shoulder. “We’re ready for you, Mitchell.”

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  Twenty-two

  Five Months Later

  Kennedy cracked her eyes open to dim light flashing in total darkness. Every other second the light flashed, the brightness jolting her senses.

  Black.

  White.

  Dark.

  Bright.

  It never ended.

  Someone called her name. Their voice sounded familiar and eerily desperate to get her attention. Piecing the words together felt like a riddle she couldn’t decipher. The sound was muted, too far away from her to process. Part of her wanted to go back to sleep, to lose consciousness and fade into the black background, but that voice. That voice wouldn’t stop.

  Cupcake!

  The word triggered recognition.

  Matilda. Yes, Matilda was calling her name. Sheesh. What could she possibly want right now? Couldn’t the robot tell that she was trying to get some rest?

  Still, she kept on. Kept pleading, and Kennedy could no longer ignore it. But when she tried to sit up, her head throbbed. Oh God, it felt like it had been split in two. Something was really, really wrong.

  She drew her hands up the side of her face to touch her temples, her movements painfully slow. Sticky blood covered her left ear, her left cheek, and now her fingertips. She stared at her red hands blankly.

  She’d been injured?

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was in shock. Either that, or she was imagining all of this. She’d been on this ship too long, maybe she finally lost her mind. Dazedly, she looked around, wondering if any of it was real. Was she stuck in the middle of a dream she couldn’t wake up from? The last thing she remembered, she’d been working out with Jo. Running on the treadmill. Yes, the treadmill.

  What happened?

  Matilda’s voiced blazed through the intercom, sharp and loud this time. “Snap out of it, cupcake! You need to get out of there!”

  Kennedy blinked. Matilda never screamed at her like that. Sure, the robot was impossibly annoying, the best at biting sarcasm, even better at subtle manipulation, but she never screamed.

  If Matilda was this freaked out, the situation had to be dire.

  “Okay,” she said, her voice hoarse. “I’m getting up.”

  Easier said than done. When she tried to stand, the movement shot through her back like a steel rod. Her head ached, pulsating like there was a giant speaker inside. Definitely not a dream. Everything hurt too much for it to be a figment of her imagination.

  Using the wall next to her for support, she stood on wobbly knees, crying out when she put weight on her right leg. She didn’t think it was broken—thank the stars—but the sprain was bad enough to bring tears to her eyes.

  Where was a medi-bed when she needed one?

  By the looks of this place, she wasn’t going to receive medical treatment any time soon. Her eyes roamed the cabin with horror. It was a mess—smoke billowing out of the air ducts, monitors lying broken on the floor, oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling… then it came back to her. The Sae-yers. They weren’t a month out like she and Matilda originally thought. The blue light had been a distraction. They used it to charge toward the Pegasus, detonating an explosion upon arrival.

  Once she was upright, she realized her stance was higher to the right. The ship was tilted off
its axis. Not a good sign. Gravity would be the next thing to go, and who knew what else.

  “Good, you’re up,” Matilda said in a more controlled voice. “You really scared me, cupcake. For a second there, I wasn’t sure you would get up.”

  “Tell me about the damage, Matilda.”

  A brief second of silence passed. Matilda was likely calculating the right answer to give her. The robot knew her well enough to gauge how she would react, and then give her the best answer based on those predictions. There were obviously no right answers when it came to shipwrecks in outer space. No matter how Matilda replied, she would end up in full-blown panic mode.

  “The hyperspace engines can’t be regenerated. We’re being sucked out. The rest of the ship is hanging on by a thread. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you need to get to an escape pod ASAP.”

  Kennedy bit her lip, blinking back the tears. “That bad, huh?”

  “It’s only a matter of time before the entire ship goes haywire, spins out of orbit, explodes, or worse…”

  “What’s worse than exploding?”

  “An explosion would provide a quick death. There are worse things that could happen, but I’d rather not list them for you.”

  “Thanks for sparing me.”

  “Of course.”

  Okay. There it was. The horrifying reality of her situation. She knew all she needed to about what happened when ships crashed between dimensional layers; it never ended well.

  Kennedy straightened her shoulders and spine. Falling apart wasn’t going to do her any good. Later, when she had the time, she could cry her eyes out over all of this. She could curl up into a ball and sob for hours until she was out of tears. But right now she needed to act quickly. She needed to be able to think on her feet.

  She took a deep breath before she asked her next question. “Where is everyone? Have they already made it to the pods?”

  Another pause—more analyzing.

  “The blast hit the ship’s stern. Deacon and the others were killed on impact.”