Ever Episode Three: Ever, #3

By Odette C. Bell

The battle for the galaxy is here.

Scott's life is forever changed. He finds out where his true loyalties lie. It isn't a second too soon. For there is something dark at the center of the galaxy – a force like no other. As Genevieve's powers increase, so too does the mysterious infinity drive. There will be no stopping it now. It will break, and what lies at its heart will spill out to consume all.

….

Ever follows a cryogenic woman out of her time and a transport captain fighting to save the galaxy from her power. If you love your space operas with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab Ever Episode Three today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Mar 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393925118

Book preview

1

Genevieve

I hadn’t been able to stay away. Me being safe at the cost of everyone else dying was not an equation I could stand.

But now as I stood here, staring at him, my hand in his, my gut kicked. I didn’t know if it was regret or just nerves at the deep look in his eyes.

It was probably fear too, to be fair, because this ship was still under attack. A fact that was proven as the floor shuddered violently.

The chief was doing a good job facing off against the doorway and stopping any more enemies from getting through, but as that violent convulsion ripped through the floor plating, she fell to the side. I knew what would happen a second before it did. One of the lethal jolts of electricity from the conduits she was holding slashed toward Daisy. I whirled on the spot. Without breaking my grip on Scott, I used my spare hand. I commanded my energy to blast out. It caught hold of that snaking charge of electricity just before it could smash through Daisy’s chest. I held it on the spot, then yanked it back. It joined my energy, slowly circling me until it was fully absorbed.

Daisy’s mouth opened wide. Her back banged against the wall, and she slid down it.

Daisy, Scott snapped. Chief, enough with the lethal conduits. You’re going to get one of us killed.

The chief shook.

Daisy? She just looked at me.

I know you don’t trust me, I said softly.

Scott went to pull Daisy up to her feet, but she didn’t need a hand. She batted him away. Though she still looked kind of emotional and freaked out, she nodded at me. She pressed her lips together, half closed her eyes, and made it one of the most respectful moves I’d ever seen.

I repeated it.

… I felt something in my stomach – something I hadn’t felt for a long time. I hadn’t had many friends growing up – not many true friends, anyway. Actual camaraderie was pretty rare when you couldn’t give anyone anything but a smile from your sickbed. But this – what I was starting to feel now as everybody gathered around and got ready to protect the ship – was a sense I’d been longing for my entire life.

Once Scott had ascertained Daisy was fine, he turned back to me. He had no filter on his expression. I understood why he often had his helmet on. His face gave absolutely everything away. While he could just be a good actor, I really doubted that. There was just too much curiosity and open awareness behind his gaze. Can you… save this ship from them? I mean, we can help and all. But—

Still keeping my gaze locked on him, I suddenly thrust my hand to the side. It was directed over his shoulder. Our enemies had all been coming from the open engineering doors. This one was further into the engineering bay. Scott winced and lurched to the side. He fell down to his knees and collapsed his hands over his head. I wasn’t about to end our conversation by attacking him, though. An assassin appeared right over his shoulder. The guy somehow jumped down from some kind of mezzanine level above I hadn’t even been aware of. Before he could slash Scott through with some glowing red blade, I picked the guy up off his feet. I was starting to get better at using my energy in small bursts. It was enough to disable someone’s armor, but not enough to rip them apart like a pack of hungry wolves to a deer.

I lifted the assassin up. He slashed at Scott once more with the blade, but I simply stopped it in place with a puff of energy. I pressed my tongue between my teeth, concentrating with all my might. A few beads of sweat slid down my brow. My eyelashes fluttered, and my eyes threatened to roll into the back of my head. But I held on. I heard the distinctive click of the guy’s armor failing. Then immediately I dropped him like a hot potato.

Scott jerked in. It was a testament to how much he honestly trusted me that he didn’t pause. A few scraps of my energy were still racing around that assassin. If Scott were genuinely scared of me, he wouldn’t touch the guy for fear of cross-infection. But Scott skidded down to his knees without pause. He grabbed the guy’s helmet and yanked it off.

The man was, in fact, a woman. She had blazing red eyes, white hair, and two blue stripes down her chin. As soon as she saw Scott, she hissed in his face. She also spat. I wasn’t sure if it was blood – it was some strange blue substance. It was directed at his face, but it never reached it. A force field was covering his head. The substance, whatever it was, fizzled against the crackling energy.

The In-Betweener won’t stop. Every resource he has is turned toward getting her. You will give her up, the assassin slid her gaze toward me, and I could see the greed playing within, or everything you own and cherish will be taken from you. We know where your brother works. We can have someone attack him at any moment. Do you honestly want your entire family to go down with you? she snarled.

Scott barely reacted. At least on the outside. I could see the side of his face. Everyone else was behind him.

His cheeks twitched. It wasn’t the biggest of moves, but it told me Scott was holding onto something. Inside, he wanted to crack. But outside all he did was grab hold of the assassin’s collar and pull her up. He brought his face close. Obviously he was satisfied that his force field would be able to block off that strange blue substance she kept spitting at him. She did it again, but once more it simply fizzled off the shield, wisps of blue-black steam escaping upward.

We both know you don’t have the ability to get to my brother. And… Scott trailed off.

His pause was pregnant. It had this shaking emotional force behind it. I wanted to know what it was.

Scott simply stiffened up. He dropped the assassin. You can tell the In-Betweener this – because I know that he’s listening in. Scott’s eyes flashed. I’m not gonna stop. You might not think that I’m much of an enemy, but we both know I’m tenacious. And tenacious people can do a lot of damn damage before they’re stopped.

He turned away.

The woman reached for something in her pocket. Every other assassin I’d fought so far had tended to kill themselves once it was clear that they could no longer complete the mission. This woman had something left to give.

I freaked out.

I jerked forward, ready to put myself between her and Scott, even though I’d really only just met the man, but I didn’t have to. Scott reached out and grabbed my arm. He shook his head.

The woman threw the object. It dashed against Scott’s armor. But it didn’t hurt him. It was more of that strange blue liquid. It simply splashed off his chest plate, his shoulders, and his legs. It pooled on the floor under his feet.

You are marked. The In-Betweener will come for you with everything he has. There is no hope for you now, Scott Delaney. Both you and your brother are dead. The assassin killed herself in the same way the rest of them had. Her head jolted to the side several times. Then she was still.

I stared at Scott. I waited for him to freak the hell out at the threat to his brother. I really didn’t know too much about Scott Delaney, but of the few interactions I’d had with him, it was obvious that his heart rested with Peter. Yet all Scott did was stand there. He still held my wrist. His grip was hard. I didn’t feel like he was trying to contain me so much as he was holding onto something for dear life.

It took him a few seconds to shake himself out of his reverie. He stared down at his hand, then dropped it quickly. He looked at me. What happens now?

My gaze flashed over to Daisy. I expected this would be where she would complain. I was still the Atlantean. And having me on board was a risk. But all she did was square off in front of the door with the chief. She looked at me once. I could see the confusion playing in her gaze. She still didn’t know what to think about me. She was starting to come to my side. Yet her gaze was a lot less direct and angry than it had been previously.

It took me a moment to actually listen to what Scott had said. I quickly shook my head. What do you mean what do we do next? I don’t know anything—

He laughed.

He pointed back at the assassin. You knew she was going to attack well before I did. And I’m in some of the most sophisticated armor money can buy. His voice cracked when he spoke about money.

It was very clear that something had happened to him. It was just as clear that we did not yet have the kind of relationship where he would tell me.

I shook my head again. I’m new to this galaxy. I don’t know what to do next. I— I began to freak out. Not completely. He was still holding onto my wrist, and that was comforting me.

He looked at me. His gaze roamed over my face. You should calm down, he said quietly. Most people when they ask you to calm down do it in an officious voice that just makes you freak out more. Not with Scott. There was genuine compassion there. It locked me to the spot. It actually took the wind out of the sails of my anxiety. I calmed down enough to allow me to scratch my nose. How do you—

I figured out what happened on the security division ship, he said quietly, obviously not wanting the rest of his crew to pick this up. You… lost it, didn’t you? You are not always in control of that energy. Though he’d been staring at me and only at me, his gaze flashed over to my wall of energy. It wasn’t interacting with him. It was just this cloud that surrounded me perpetually as if I was some mountain peak that was always headfirst in the weather.

I….

You don’t have to admit to anything. But if you feel yourself starting to lose control, just tell me.

He didn’t add anything along the lines of he couldn’t afford me breaking up his ship, or he didn’t want me killing his crew. He just wanted me to tell him whenever I was losing it.

I… a strong part of me still didn’t want to trust him. And I was starting to realize it wasn’t because he wasn’t trustworthy but because I hated to make character decisions.

Aside from my grandfather, who’d always been with me and on my side, I’d never known who to trust in my life. A lot of people had used my connection with my grandfather to try to get his money. Many friends had turned out to be nothing more than manipulators. Even my parents….

I couldn’t go there.

I nodded.

He finally dropped my wrist. He looked at me, then over to the door. Sounds like we’ve got two options, he said clearly for everyone to hear.

What are they? Fight to the death or fight to the death? the chief quipped.

No one is fighting to the death, he growled.

You heard that assassin, Daisy snarled. "You saw what