Lost

By Donnielle Tyner

In the final days of WWI, a meteor crashed into Earth, releasing a mist that forever changed the DNA of all exposed. One hundred years later, humanity is divided between Norms, and Caelians, whose mutated DNA awakened dormant Talents. Hated by many Norms who are jealous of their powerful Talents, Caelians strive to find safety in an often-hostile world.

This is Sadie's world. Orphaned at birth, Sadie is the only Caelian at St. Vincent's without a Talent. Her already lonely life at the orphanage is shattered when her boyfriend is murdered- the victim of an anti-Caelian hate crime. Struggling to find her place in the world, Sadie meets Kian, a fellow Caelian whose very presence makes her feel strangely alive.

As Sadie begins to uncover the secrets of her past, her rare latent Talent is exposed and she finds herself on the run with Kian and her friends, hunted by a dangerous egomaniac determined to use her power to establish Caelian dominance. Sadie faces a choice: hide and stay lost, or accept her new reality and fight.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Donnielle Tyner
• Release date: Jun 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311884039

Donnielle Tyner

Hello! Donnielle here. I’m a new indie young adult author. When I’m not writing, I spend my time reading, binge watching Netflix, homeschooling my two children, and hanging out with my husband.A few fun facts about me:1. I began writing when I was in junior high. A teacher approached me with a poetry book and I fell in love. Writing poetry has helped me express myself through some of the darkest times in my life.2. I am always reading something and own hundreds of eBooks. I thank the technology gods for the invention of e-readers. Series are my favorite. I love it when I feel like I cannot stop reading a book. My favorite genre is sci-fi and paranormal.3. I am a HUGE nerd and enjoy every medium of nerdom from comic books to Magic! The Gathering.4. I am a serious introvert and need plenty of alone time so I don’t go insane. Seriously! I will cut someone if they cut in to my “me” time.5. I have a passion for holistic medicine and create many of my own household products. My kids and husband will ask for some “oils” when they aren't feeling well. I love growing herbs to make my own blends of herbal tea.6. I read YA almost exclusively. There is just something about it that calls to my heart above other genres.7. When I read paranormal it’s either about shifters or faeries.8. Writing has always been a passion and a dream. I had many jobs and they never fulfilled me the way writing has.

Book preview

Prologue

Seventeen years ago…

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Pain. Unbearable, gut-wrenching pain, and then relief. Lucinda knew this moment would be fleeting and another round would come when the next contraction hit, but even through all the suffering, she couldn’t be happier. Soon she would be holding her baby girl and hopefully would begin to feel normal again. Hope was all she had left, but somehow she knew it wouldn’t be enough. Although this pregnancy was her first, it was brutal. Each day she felt weaker and eventually the doctor put her on full bed rest. No unnecessary movements and definitely no Talent.

She missed her Talent. Without that extension of herself she felt crippled.

Ohhhhhh! Lucinda grunted, as she doubled over.

Lu! You really should be lying down, Cecile, her closest friend, scolded as she led Lucinda back to the bed.

Those damned contractions feel better when I stand.

You can barely stay up. You’re drenched in sweat and shaking. Not one of those things leads me to believe you’re well enough to labor standing. Lie down. Please? For a little while?

Fine, Lucinda conceded. Spots were beginning to form in her peripheral vision. Maybe for a little while.

Cecile pursed her lips and took notice of her friend’s state. Lucinda was deathly pale. Her cobalt hair was plastered to her face and light blue freckles that were once an eye catching asset now looked like a menacing pox spread across her face and shoulders. A dark thought blossomed: her friend was going to meet her end today.

Another contraction. Cecile rubbed Lucinda’s lower back, attempting to relieve some of the pressure.

Lu. They’re only a few minutes apart. Please let me call Dr. Robinson now.

No. I don’t want anyone else here, Lucinda panted.

At least tell me who the father is. He deserves to know.

No! Lucinda’s voice, which had been meek for the last trimester, rang with authority. He will never know her.

Why, Lu? Why all this secrecy? Cecile demanded.

Another contraction.

CeCe, I love you, but we both know how this is going to end, Lucinda panted. I am barely hanging on here. My daughter, she’s special. I know it more than any mother who knows their child. She’s taking my essence and I won’t survive. Ahhhhhh!

What? You don’t mean…

I’ve felt it for a while now. She’s absorbing my Talent, my soul.

No. Disbelief washed over Cecile’s face. This was unheard of. Talents don’t manifest until puberty. No Talent user has ever been able to absorb Talent from others. She felt her own Talent tingling under her skin, causing bumps to rise over her flesh.

No. It can’t be. You’re mistaken.

I’m not. Lucinda looked into her friend’s eyes, and even though her body looked like death warmed over, her eyes held the same fierceness Cecile grew up with. And I am absolutely okay with it.

I don’t understand, Cecile mumbled while Lucinda let out a guttural noise that shook her to the core.

You will one day.

After watching you for the last 27 hours, I am sure that I will be celibate until I die.

Lucinda chuckled and then doubled over and screamed.

It won’t be long now, Cece.

God, Lu, I don’t want you to die. What will I do with myself? Tears streaked down her face as she tried to picture life without her friend. They had known each other since birth, and other than who the mystery father was, they had shared every moment of their lives.

Lucinda’s breath was labored as she began to grunt.

Do me a favor? Lucinda whispered.

Anything.

After she’s born and I move on from this world, take her from this place. Take her to Saint Vincent’s.

WHAT? The orphanage for bastard and unwanted Talented children? What the hell, Lu? She’s pure! She HAS family!

She cannot be raised within the family. He’ll know. He’ll take her.

Damn it, Lu. Please don’t make me.

It’s my wish. Lucinda’s face contorted as she began to push with the contractions.

God. Okay. I’ll do it. Cecile agreed as she moved to catch the baby. All the books and Internet videos couldn’t prepare her for the visual that assaulted her eyes.

Yep. She sure as hell wouldn’t be having children.

Lucinda screamed as her daughter came in to the world and reached for her right away. She felt her Talent slipping.

Give her to me. I must see her before… Cecile handed Lucinda a screaming baby with the same hair and eyes as her own and skin an angelic pale gold, a gift from her father. She’s beautiful. Listen to her sing.

Lucinda closed her eyes. Cecile shot to her side, scared her friend would pass out and drop the baby.

Lu, what is her name?

Mmmm. She’s singing me off. Like a bird.

Lu! Lucinda! Cecile began to shake her friend.

Mmmm? Lucinda answered, opening her eyes to take in her daughter. Confusion wrinkled her forehead as her glance flickered between Cecile and the newborn. Do you see this?

Cecile felt the blood drain from her face as she watched the baby’s hair that once was the same cobalt as her mother’s begin to fade away, leaving a pure white in its wake.

I don’t believe it, she muttered. What does this mean? Her hair! I’ve never seen a Talented baby with no color.

She has color. Her eyes are unnaturally blue, like mine, and her skin is slightly golden, Lucinda sighed. Her heart was overflowing with joy, even though she felt like she had one foot in this world and the other in the next.

Cecile whipped her head toward Lucinda and locked her in an unrelenting stare. Golden skin? Realization dawned on her. No, No, No. Not him.

Yes, Lucinda calmly replied. Her countenance lightened with fondness at the mention of him. Lucinda snuggled her daughter closer. She looks like her father.

She looks like you, Cecile’s voice choked in response. How could it be that she wasn’t aware Lucinda was in love?

I have named her, she announced.

Yeah?

Yeah. Lucinda smiled at her friend. Sadie.

It’s beautiful.

Fear bloomed across Lucinda’s face. Don’t let anyone discover her, Cecile. Especially her father’s family. Actually, it doesn’t matter which family gets their talons in her, it will not end well.

You saw it? Cecile couldn’t hide the shock. Lucinda had stopped having visions a year ago. Oh. It dawned on her. You knew he’d impregnate you. You allowed it.

Yes. I know what she can be. Lucinda’s head dipped as she slipped out of consciousness.

I swear to you, I’ll keep her hidden, Cecile vowed as she kissed her friend’s forehead.

Cecile watched as her closest friend released her last breath. The baby Sadie began to scream as if she knew her mother was gone from this world and she was utterly alone. Bracing herself for what she had to do, Cecile took Sadie in her arms and began the long trek to Saint Vincent’s, praying the entire way that her friend had interpreted her vision correctly and hadn’t unleashed an uncontrollable force into the world.

Chapter 1

I found myself standing on a small mountain overlooking a sea of people. One side shimmered with every color under the sun, while the other was a wave of muted colors. Divided as they were, both sides were angry. Their screams reached my ears, wanting, demanding something from me, but I didn’t know what. I was torn. I looked out and felt the tears streaming down my face.

Choose, a voice behind me demanded.

I didn’t know what he wanted from me except that his voice shattered my heart, and in that moment I knew I was going to die.

The alarm blared, pulling me from the dream. I reached out with an unsteady hand and after a few ineffectual attempts, swept the alarm to the floor with a crash.

Sadie! What the hell? Rebecca screamed from her side of the room.

An unintelligible groan greeted her as I rolled over and pulled my comforter above my head. It was too early to be awake. I had begun to drift back to sleep when the wind was knocked out of me in a loud OOF!

Get off me, Becca, I demanded.

Nope. You’re getting up and getting out of the room today, Rebecca replied while pulling the blanket off of me in one swoop. The cold enveloped me right away and my eyes shot open.

Rude, I mumbled, searching through my backpack in a frenzy for my hoodie. Once I found it, I slipped it over my head and proceeded to glare at my friend. Her smile reached her eyes as she turned to get ready for the day.

Rebecca was like me, like everyone at Saint Vincent’s. Each story is different, but we all have one thing in common: we are throwaways. The unwanted Talented children of humanity. Most of the children who ended up here were born from non-Caelian families who didn’t want to live with the stigma of having a Talented child. My story was an unusual one among our lot. My parents were dead and no one else wanted me.

Glancing to the floor to check the time, I grunted as I heaved myself out of bed. Rebecca, the perkiest morning person ever, was already dressed and primping in the corner. Her uniform shirt was unbuttoned a little too low, and she rolled her khaki skirt to be a few inches higher than regulation, showing off her long, slender legs.

She was girl-next-door beautiful, if your average girl next door had midnight blue skin, and pale yellow eyes and hair. She kept her hair short, but just long enough to show a little kink and curl. I was envious.

Stop staring, creeper. She smiled, used to me getting lost in my thoughts. Get in the shower. You’re so greasy I could fry an egg with your hair alone.

Yeah, yeah. I waved her off as I tromped to our shared bathroom.

The water was hot, which meant either I was one of the first to get in the shower, or everyone else decided to skip. I didn’t care either way and enjoyed the scalding hot water dripping down my back. Rebecca was right. I smelled. But that’s what happens when you don’t leave your room for three days.

Being different, even in the Caelian reject community, I was always a little introverted. My reclusive tendencies have been worse as of late and it was hard to care about socializing, even a little. My friends, counselors, and teachers all sympathized with me. It’s not every day your boyfriend is murdered.

It had been four months, three weeks, and six days since I had last seen Liam. He was the only person who really drew me out of my shell. He was forgiving of my outbursts and not ashamed of me when I turned 17 and still hadn’t discovered my Talent.

My cheeks pulled back at the pleasant memory and the smile felt foreign, but pleasant. Warmth spread across my chest as I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body. It was tangible and unexpected. Maybe today was going to be a good day after all.

Hurry up, Sadie! I’m starving, Rebecca yelled from the room.

I’m out. I just need to get dressed. You can go on without me, you know. I’m fully capable of walking to the cafeteria.

You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I know you’ll try to get back in bed.

I stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed, toweling my hair dry. I promise I’ll go today, I stated.

Rebecca cocked her hip and looked at me critically. Her gaze traveled over my face in scrutiny. Satisfied by whatever she saw, she continued to take in the rest of me. Her lips pursed in dissatisfaction as her gaze narrowed on each item of clothing. Starting with my beat up orange Chucks, pausing at the rip in the knee of my favorite pair of faded blue jeans, and finally resting on the oversized black hoodie that once belonged to Liam. She expelled her breath in a whoosh by the time her perusal ended.

You look clean, she commented with a lackluster smile.

Um, thanks? I replied, brushing out my tangled mane. The snow white tendrils were cascading down my back tugging painfully at my scalp. I glanced at the clock and decided to let it air dry. The last time it was cut, Rebecca asked the hair dresser to style it in a way where if I did nothing, my natural waves would frame my face. Thank God for her foresight. When it came to beauty, being lazy suited me.

Throw some mascara on and let’s go! Rebecca commanded while she gathered our things. I glanced at my reflection and cringed. The skin under my eyes looked bruised and swollen, which was exaggerated by the light golden color of my skin and the cobalt blue of my eyes.

Unique eye and hair color were common within the Caelian community. Skin colors were uncommon, but not unheard of. They paired all of us off as toddlers so we wouldn’t feel out of place. Rebecca and I were two of the six children with a unique skin color residing at Saint Vincent’s, which is why Rebecca and I were roommates. These differences are what the non-Talented call Caelum’s mark and they always present themselves at birth, which is why many babies are given up.

I studied myself. It had been a while since I cared about my image. I always thought I looked sort of pretty. My body was a study in contrasts. The hard angles of my jaw and nose were complemented by the softness of my cheeks and lips, and the largeness of my forehead was accented by full eyebrows and almond eyes. I was average height, about 5’7", with long limbs and a statuesque hourglass figure.

I furrowed my forehead in scrutiny. I had let myself go a bit, but still didn’t feel the need for makeup.

Maybe not today, I replied to Rebecca while reaching for my cell phone. I began checking it for any messages. I had a few from Liam’s older brother, Michael, checking in on me, and one from his twin sister, Lacy. Lacy was the lucky twin. She wasn’t Talented and was allowed to stay with her family, along with Michael. Over the years, their mom would make veiled comments about another child, but they had no proof of the existence of another sibling until Michael turned 18 and hired a private