by Belle Malory
“His hands were in mine…and then they weren’t.”
“His life was in God’s hands, baby. Not yours. Don’t you even think of blaming yourself…” Ashley’s voice broke after that, and she looked away.
She couldn’t handle this any more than Kennedy could.
Bits and pieces were there, stored in the places of her mind Kennedy never wanted to revisit. It was easy to see why she was having such a hard time recalling the details.
Losing her father overshadowed everything else.
Thirty-Five
The electronic doc was stocked with nearly every article ever released on her father’s death. These were followed by an in-depth analysis written by Dr. Lunessa Sigly.
Kennedy wasn’t sure if she was all that surprised.
She skimmed the analysis. Certain phrases stuck out. All evidence points to Kennedy’s physical body being underwater for several hours.
She should have died. And yet, here she was, alive and well. Barely breathing, but still alive.
Kennedy rubbed her temples, pressing her mind for answers. Everything after the moment her father’s hands left hers was blurry, even the memorial service four days later.
It was as if she’d all but shut down during that time.
She flipped through the rest of the file. Only more background information, photos of her family, where they lived, and so on.
She closed the file on her brace, and the hologram went dark. She tucked the folder away, putting everything back just as she’d found it.
The tiny beam of her flashlight led her back into the hallway.
Phoenix was by the wall.
His hands were inside…a hole? In the wall?
Weird.
“Phoenix?” she whispered. He whipped around, several papers crinkling in his hands. “What are you doing?”
As she came closer, her brace lit up his face, and the look of horror in his eyes. “Kennedy.” His voice was hoarse. “I found something awful.”
“What are you talking about?”
He pointed to the wall. “I was standing there, leaning next to that picture frame. I must have touched something, because the next thing I knew, the wall was moving, and then it opened up. Some kind of hidden compartment or safe.”
“What was in it?”
Her eyes fell on the papers he held between his fingers.
“Details of a secret mission. Vickard is sending a section of the Peri-Guard to a planet that’s still under research. Customs hasn’t approved visitation yet.”
“What?” She held her flashlight over the papers. “Why would he send them there?”
Phoenix flipped to a different page. She took it from him, looking at it closely. It was an inventory list. “There’s an abundance of valuable resources. Diamonds, gold, titanium, you name it.”
Her eyes rounded on the page. “Vickard’s corrupt.”
Phoenix nodded. “He’s making it look like they’re standing post, when they’re really on a scouting mission.” His hands balled into fists, the paper crumpling within them. “Kennedy, he can’t just bring that stuff here. One little thing, even something minor that can’t adjust to our planet, and it could start a butterfly effect. Things like this have wiped out entire species’ on other plants. Entire worlds have died.”
She swallowed. “What do we do?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. For a job this large, there has to be several officers in on it. I wouldn’t know who to tell, who to trust.”
“Should we keep the file?”
He shoved the papers back inside the files, and back into the wall. “No way. They’ll just make it look like a setup, maybe even try and pin it on us. These files have to stay here, and once we figure out who we can trust, we bring them back to this spot.”
He pushed the cutout section of the wall back into place.
They both hushed, hearing a noise come from somewhere outside of the office. “Better get out of here now,” Phoenix said. “Turn off your flashlight.”
Phoenix stayed silent all the way out of Level 3. Even without words, Kennedy knew how much finding out about Vickard bothered him.
Phoenix was an idealist; he strove to be everything a keeper should be and more. This sort of thing coming to light, especially after watching Dr. Sigly’s crackpot authority demonstration, must be like watching dominos fall. He grew up in Level 3, trained here everyday, and it was all shattering around him.
Her heart bled for Phoenix, and for his ideals.
She was beginning to see the things he saw potential in, what this place was to him. It shouldn’t be this way. Olympus, Level 3, all of it, should be better. Worthy of Earth’s protectors. And it wasn’t. And it made Kennedy feel…sad.
~ ~
Once they were back in her apartment, Phoenix apologized, looking guilty. “I didn’t ask you what you found in your file.” He shook out his blonde hair and tossed the ski cap aside. “Sorry. I’m listening now.”
Kennedy walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You were distracted, and so was I.” She took out two glasses, filled them with water, and handed one to Phoenix.
“You find anything interesting?” Hope sparked in his eyes. Dark places were everywhere in his world, and still he stayed hopeful.
“Kinda.” She shrugged, staring at her water. The news articles and Dr. Sigly’s analysis flashed through her mind. “Can we talk about it tomorrow? I have some things to figure out. I think I need to let this sink in.”
“Yeah, sure. I get it.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked around the apartment. “You want me to crash here again tonight?”
Kennedy propped herself up on the kitchen counter. “I might seriously try to hurt you if you leave.” Her lips curved into a grin. “Not that I’d do much damage.”
“You wouldn’t present much of a challenge.” There was an unmistakable lilt of amusement in the way he said that.
“I don’t know. I might be able to pull your hair, scratch you up pretty badly before you could take me down. You know, girl-fight techniques.”
“Doubt it.” He let out a low laugh. “When Lexie first came here, she fought like that. She has a lot of sisters or something. Anyhow, one day she scratched me, and I punched her in the arm. Completely out of reflex,” he added, making sure to emphasize that part. “I’ll never forget, she stood there, holding her arm, and she gave me this look, like she couldn’t believe I just hit her, a girl. And then I couldn’t believe I just hit a girl, even though we were in combat training. She snapped, came at me full force, and took my ear in her fingers like I was a little boy. Chewed me out pretty bad.”
Kennedy smiled; it was easy to picture. “And you just let her?”
“Yeah.” He grinned sheepishly. “Figured I deserved it.”
A small laugh bubbled up in her throat. “You probably did.”
She idly traced the rim of her glass with her fingers, her laughter dying down. Phoenix’s face went back to being inscrutable, too. She wondered if he was already missing life on Level 3.
“Should we talk about what we’re going to do?”
He shrugged, drank his water, and set the empty glass down on the counter. “Don’t know if there is anything to do.”
“We could tell Professor Mason,” she suggested. “Out of everyone here, he seems the most trustworthy.”
Phoenix shook his head, refusing that idea altogether. “I don’t want to put him at risk.”
“Why? Do you think something might happen?”
He leaned against the refrigerator door, arms folded loosely over his chest. “Something this big, who knows. If they’re corrupt enough to put our world at risk for money, I wouldn’t put it past them to kill anyone who stands in their way.”
Behind his words hid a more terrifying message. If anyone found out they knew about the safe, chances were good their lives were at stake too. It was hard to imagine anyone hurting Phoenix. Her, on the other hand, not so
difficult.
So yeah. Terrifying.
“I have some contacts in D.C. and London. People I trust. I’ll start making calls tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He walked towards her, his head hanging low. “Everything is so screwed up, Kennedy.”
The sorrow in his voice broke her heart. She didn’t know what to do, what to say to take away his pain. After all he had done for her, she wished she could.
She set her water down. “On a much smaller scope, I know what it’s like to watch the world you thought was built out of stronger stuff disintegrate. It’s easy to feel helpless.”
Phoenix nodded, understanding what she meant.
He pressed the heels of his hands on the countertop, enclosing her between them. “I don’t know how to explain this, but I need something,” his voice lowered to a deep whisper, “good.”
Kennedy’s gaze darted to each of his hands. She was trapped, and Phoenix was too damned close. That intoxicating scent that was all him surrounded her. “By good,” she said, swallowing, “you mean what exactly?”
He lifted his hands from the counter and wrapped them around her waist. Sparks passed through his hands where he touched her. Kennedy began shaking her head no—her mind screaming that this was a mistake—while every other cell in her body wanted to move closer, to keep going. “Phoenix, we can’t—”
He slowly pulled her across the counter, drawing her closer to him. “Shut up, Kennedy.” He touched his forehead against hers. “This is inevitable.”
His fingers slid into her hair, his hands circling around the back of her neck. A thousand tiny shivers coursed through her body.
Part of her wanted to stop this. Really, really wanted to stop this. This was Phoenix, and she had a feeling if she got a little taste of him, she might fall in deep. She might never want to give him up. All around, it seemed like he was leading her into broken-heart territory.
But another part simply didn’t care.
His lips brushed hers, feather-light, and every reason for pushing him away went out the door. Fighting her feelings didn’t make sense anymore.
He pulled back, just a little, his lips lingering close to hers. She savored each heart-pounding moment, felt the electricity of his mouth hovering in front of hers, daring her to come closer. She felt herself lean into him, not even a conscious choice anymore.
That was all it took for him to pull her into his arms and kiss her more deeply. His tongue slowly tasted hers, scorching her lips, her tongue, her mouth. He kissed as if he wanted to fill her with his warmth, with the fire that must truly live inside of him.
His hands latched onto her thighs and slid her to the edge of the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and pressed her body against his. Every inch of her skin felt scorched, melting from the inside out. She had a fever, and everything burned. The world burned in flames around them.
She ran her hands along his arms, feeling his muscles tense beneath her fingertips. A buried hunger, and a need to consume him unleashed within. Touching him, kissing him, ignited rippling sparks everywhere.
Phoenix pulled back, and they both let out ragged breaths. He cupped her face between his hands, trailing a path of kisses along her jawline. An infinitely tender act that made her feel precious to him.
“This is…amazing.” His raspy voice floated into her ear, tickling her skin. He swayed back, putting some distance between them. “But I have to stop now, or else I won’t be able to.”
Stop? She stared at his lips, still craving the warmth of them. What if she didn’t want to stop?
Thirty-Six
Later that night, Kennedy found herself unable to sleep. She debated whether to switch on the sleep agent, but decided not to. Avoiding life by pushing the button hadn’t worked out well so far. Problems didn’t disappear by sleeping them away. Come morning, they would still be there. Lingering. Waiting for her. Sleeping wasn’t even satisfying anymore.
She used to spend endless hours talking to Hunter at night. It was different though, because she stayed awake not because couldn’t sleep, but mostly because she didn’t want to.
Her throat tightened at the thought of Hunter. She missed him. So much it hurt. Admittedly, she felt a little guilty too, for kissing Phoenix. Being here, wrapped up in this place, hadn’t given her the time to think about that day on the porch. It hadn’t given her the chance to think about the way he told her, without words, how he felt.
She hated that she might’ve betrayed their friendship tonight. Betrayal was a harsh word, and she hoped she hadn’t crossed into that territory. Hunter was too important.
If she ever did make it back home, she had no clue what was waiting for her in terms of their relationship. And after kissing Phoenix, she didn’t know if she wanted something more with Hunter.
Kennedy groaned, knowing she would never be able to sleep with everything haunting her all night.
Screw this. I’m getting up.
She slipped out of bed, her bare feet lightly padding across the floor. Phoenix was asleep, sprawled across the living room sofa. His eyes were closed; one hand rested behind his head. He was shirtless, covered by a blanket from the waist down.
Seeing him this way, so at ease, was alarming. The omnipresent severity Phoenix carried was missing. His angular features softened. Long eyelashes rested against his cheekbones innocently. His brow was smooth and untroubled.
Kennedy smiled, thinking she was meeting the boy who never became a keeper. This was Phoenix, relaxed, normal, incredibly sexy, and without all the baggage.
Nice to meet you.
She tiptoed closer, crawling into the tiny space on the sofa his body didn’t occupy. He stirred at her movement, and his arms wrapped around her. He pulled her close, nuzzling his face against her neck. “Not a good idea.”
“What’s not a good idea?”
“You being here.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“They make buttons for that.”
She smiled at the way he said it, as if the insomnia plaguing most of her nights was also a friend of his. “Maybe I want to talk this out instead.”
His groan vibrated against her side. “Maybe you should sit somewhere else while you talk.”
“I can do that.” She started to move away, but his arms tightened around her. “You’ll have to let me go.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I can control myself.”
She snuggled deeper into the warmth of his arms, thrilled by the simple pleasure of knowing he didn’t want to let her go.
“So what is it you want to talk about?”
“This keeper stuff.” She looked up at him, trying to see his face through the dark. “Nobody’s ever really talked about it with me, other than one insane conversation I had with Professor Mason and my quote,” she made little air quotes, “unquote circle. And anyway, when I think about that day, I’m still not so sure someone didn’t slip something in my drink or something. I certainly felt like I was on drugs.”
“I’m sure it was a lot to process,” he allowed.
When it came to diplomacy, he had it down pat.
“Look, let’s just be real, because I have a ton of questions.”
“Okay, but first you have to answer one of mine. Why now?”
She shrugged. “I’m trying. You know, like you asked? And I think some answers will help me understand.”
“Well, I’m all for helping,” he said. “Ask away.”
“Okay.” She turned over to face him, propping herself up on her elbows. “So what happens if a keeper dies? Is another one born?”
Kennedy hoped he wouldn’t detect the ulterior motive behind her question.
“It’s still a learning process for humans. If we’re like the Nona, and we believe we are, every keeper will have to die before a new one is born.”
“So what happens when everyone dies?”
“The cycle starts over. A new set of keepers are born. That’s why we’re all so close in a
ge. Each keeper is born in consecutive years, depending on their element and the alignment of the stars. Fires are first. Davaris, Fang and I were all born in the same year. Waters are last.”
His news was a little depressing, and despite her efforts, Phoenix saw right through her. “You were hoping the real twelfth had died and another one was reborn?”
“Just ruling out a possibility. But she could still be dead, you know.”
He shook his head. “She is right here.”
“How do you know that? You can’t be one hundred percent sure.”
“The hell I can’t. All of the keepers would be able to feel the break. Especially Alanna and Colton. According to the Nona, when one of their ravalia dies, the others assume their strengths and abilities. And none of us have taken on more. We’ve grown stronger, but there’s always been a definitive line crossed between our abilities.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “Point taken. The twelfth keeper isn’t dead.”
That didn’t prove it was her though.
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Phoenix asked.
Totally valid question. Shame washed over her. She was spending too much energy doing needless convincing when she should have been trying to understand what being a keeper meant.
She needed to ask the right questions. Might be a good idea to actually listen this time, too.
Figuring out what to ask was the hard part. Somehow she needed to see Phoenix’s side of things, from a more human perspective. She needed to see if she could relate to whatever it was that made him a keeper.
If he were in her shoes, what would he want to know? She reversed their roles in her mind, and it sparked an idea. “Did you know about the fire manipulation before you came here?”
He was silent for a long moment. “No, but I was five, so it wasn’t like I had loads of time to figure it out on my own.”
A subtle note of bitterness slipped in there.
Kennedy felt bad for the five-year-old Phoenix. At least she got to spend more time with her family. In fact, aside from Fang, all the keepers had spent more time with their families. Phoenix never had very much time to feel normal.