The Caelian Cycle Boxed Set

by Donnielle Tyner

  That was until Miles saw the 30 second video of the girl. She was a perfect blend of Adrian and Lucinda - golden skin and cobalt eyes. Miles had watched the video a hundred times. At each viewing, he continued to stare in awe when her lovely flowing mane changed from white as the purest snow to the fiery red of the man she was touching. Power flowed in her. She looked like an avenging angel as she struck down the man and Miles wondered what he had done to deserve her wrath.

  He needed to know what her Talent was. It took two weeks for his man to discover what she could do. Power of that magnitude was unheard of and Miles craved it. For years, he had cursed his son for his betrayal until the moment he learned of his granddaughter. Granted, he had no familial feelings toward the girl. His aspiration to lead mankind into a new era filled that hole where his heart used to be.

  Miles wanted to control her power. He desired her Talent.

  “Sir.” Clare spoke up and Miles focused his deep red eyes on his assistant. He’d been told his eyes looked almost black. Paired with maroon hair and persistent glower, his intense scrutiny unsettled people; Clare squirmed under his gaze. “Link and his men were ambushed by the HCA. Only he survived.”

  She paused, her angelic face filled with fear, and swallowed before she opened her mouth to speak again. The timbre of her voice rose an octave and each word shook with fright. “The HCA has her, but we do not know if she’s alive. Last report was that she was gravely injured in the crossfire.”

  Miles roared as he swept the contents of his desk to the floor.

  “Get Link in here,” Miles growled, his chest heaving as he struggled to regain control.

  “Already done. He will be arriving shortly,” she stated. Her earlier calm returned to her voice as she focused on the tablet in her lap.

  His Talent trembled inside his head. Numbers. Scenarios. Outcomes. They filled his mind as his Talent worked to find a solution. Miles released a breath through his nose.

  “Good. Good,” he mumbled.

  Miles paced his office. The damned HCA has my granddaughter. This will complicate things. We need to find out if she is alive. He was sure she would be. The HCA would want her to survive and fight for them. He had to draw her out before they polluted her head with their ideas of unification. Miles needed her on his side. The buzz from his Talent subsided as a tiny seed of an idea began to form.

  A compliant follower is easier to command. His son was willing to follow his administration for a time. Miles pause in mid-step and shook his head in exasperation before moving behind his desk. Adrian was a good scientist, but for Miles’ plans to succeed, he needed allegiance above blood.

  Sadie could be both. Obedient supporter and loving family member. Miles sighed as he looked at the only picture on his desk – Maggie’s bright chartreuse eyes and hair that shone like sapphires beamed at him. Never aging. Always beautiful. The light to his dark. She died giving him Adrian, a waste of her precious life for disappointment of a son. Sadie would be different. He would find a way to make her comply.

  “Sir, Link is right outside. Are you ready for me to show him in?”

  He nodded, leaning forward to rest his chin on tented hands. Link stomped in, chains clanking, and looked everywhere except at Miles. He stopped behind the second chair, waiting to be addressed before sitting.

  Miles watched Link squirm under his inspection. He reveled in the power he held over this strong Caelian man. Link looked as if he had barely scraped by with his life. The entire right side of his face was swollen and purple. A gash across his forehead stopped just above his left cheekbone. It would scar.

  “Sit,” Miles demanded. Clare tipped her head to Miles and quietly exited the room.

  “Sir…” Link began.

  “No excuses, Link. You failed.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Link’s countenance fell a small degree, but he kept his eyes on Miles. Miles smiled appreciatively.

  “Tell me exactly what happened. Explain how a group of professional bounty hunters couldn’t capture a girl. I’ve kept you in my employ for 18 years since your successful extermination of my useless son. So illuminate me, Link. How did you fail?”

  Link detailed the previous night. Miles had to reign in his anger when Link told him how he killed a norm boy his granddaughter was close to. Then she proceeded to throw herself on the boy’s norm sister in order to save her life during a fire fight.

  What was the extent of his granddaughter’s love for the norms? His people couldn’t pull her information from the Moreau orphanage, so he didn’t know of her history with these two norms or the extent of their affiliation with the Human Caelian Alliance.

  “We may not have captured her, sir, but I gathered some intel.”

  Miles waved his hand as if to say ‘go on’.

  “I’ve detailed everything in my report.” He slid a thick file across the desk. “Your granddaughter’s Talent is extraordinary. She’s a Talent drainer and according to my sources, she just discovered her it. It is safe to assume that she is untrained and unsure of the extent or limits of her Talent, and with no records of a previous Caelian with this ability, she will be on her own.”

  Miles smiled at this revelation. Sadie was special and her power would be an asset to his plans.

  “From what I have witnessed, she can recover from her ability exceptionally fast for a new Talent user, and our witnesses from Saint Vincent’s have stated that she has been expressing her Talent for some time without her knowledge. In the months leading up to the mall incident, others noticed her hair changing colors. Apparently she was very ill as a toddler and had seemingly random bouts of illness until puberty.”

  “Hmm. Her Talent must have been fully realized at birth. This is extraordinary.” Miles’s forehead wrinkled, his Talent furiously working underneath his consciousness. “How much do the students know of Sadie’s Talent and the side effects?”

  “The entire student body knows of the video and have been sworn under oath by the Family Moreau Council to silence.” Link grinned and crossed his arms while leaning back in his chair. “Not all of the students believe Sadie is to be trusted with her Talent.”

  Miles nodded, deep in thought. “Does the council know of her parentage?”

  “Unknown, but Saint Vincent’s is far enough from the Council’s central location that it wouldn’t be implausible if they were hosting Lucinda’s child in one of their outlying orphanages without their knowledge.”

  “Mmmm,” was all Miles said in response.

  “Family Moreau has put out a bounty for a former member of the Saint Vincent faculty.” Link shuffled some paper from his files. “An Eleanor LaMotte. She is wanted for questioning in Sadie’s disappearance with the HCA.”

  “The teacher is involved.”

  “Unknown, but Sadie is in league with the HCA. She all but admitted it during our confrontation.” Miles slapped his hands on his desk, causing Link to jump. “W-w-we don’t know the progress of her recovery. The HCA has her under extreme lockdown. It is safe to assume that she will begin training with them once she recovers. We will need to obtain her before she’s fully integrated.”

  Miles nodded, his mind whirring with strategies. Every one of them would fail.

  “Sadie has a weakness.” Link leaned forward, all of his previous docility melting away. “Her loved ones.” He nodded and leaned back, now oozing confidence. “We could go after the sister, but they will be expecting us to attack the norm.”

  Link placed three files on his desk. Clipped to the top left of each file was a picture of a Caelian youth. The first was an orange-haired girl with a spattering of green freckles, the second a midnight blue-skinned girl with yellow eyes and hair, and the final was a boy with mauve eyes and golden hair. According to the files, the first two were her friends from the orphanage, but Miles couldn’t find her connection with the boy. Miles stared at his photo, recognition sparking his memory.

  “This boy looks familiar,” Miles mumbled.

  “Yes. He should.
You hired him once to obtain a certain Caelian to help with your genetic studies,” Link replied, his gaze locked on Miles silently urging him to remember. Miles studied Link for a moment before returning to the file.

  His eyes widened for a brief second as the memories surfaced. This was the bounty hunter he had hired to bring in CaEx-1436, the Caelian teen with an extraordinary Talent that Miles had wanted to harvest. In the end, the boy’s body was feeble where his Talent was lethal. His death could have derailed everything, but luckily the scientists at GenCorp were successful in their endeavors before the boy died.

  “Mmm,” Miles said as he stared at the boy’s picture. He opened the file, perusing the information available. Nothing in the file indicated how the boy was connected with his granddaughter. “How does my granddaughter know this Kian?”

  “Unknown, but their relationship is fairly new.”

  “Relationship?”

  “Both times I have come in contact with your granddaughter, Kian has been there. It was obvious the two care about each other. Maybe more than that, but I don’t have all the facts. Other witnesses place the two getting cozy at a few college parties.”

  Miles nodded, staring at the wall without really looking at it.

  “If we want to draw out your granddaughter, we should go for her friends. My boys could easily capture them; both girls have active lives outside the grounds of Saint Vincent’s. It would be easy to obtain one or both. The boy will be by her side and impossible to reach, but the girls at the orphanage…”

  “I see.” Miles rubbed his chin, a plan forming in his mind. “Do we still have the contacts within Saint Vincent’s?”

  “The students? Yes.”

  Miles nodded, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes. A migraine was forming from the overuse of his Talent. As far as consequences went, his was mild, but it was an inconvenience.

  “Sir?”

  “Right. If my granddaughter likes this boy, then it is he who we need to focus on.”

  “He’ll be Underground with Sadie, sir.”

  “Then we’ll have to draw them both out. I want to give my granddaughter the chance to come willingly.”

  Link shifted in his seat. “She won’t come freely.”

  “Then we will take everything she loves. Her home. Her friends.” Miles lips curled in satisfaction as he lifted Kian’s file. “Her heart.”

  Chapter 2

  Everything hurt as I startled awake from the jolt of my arms flailing about as if I were still warding off attackers. They’d plagued my dreams every night since Michael’s death. I groaned and sank into my mattress. Training four hours a day with the Human Caelian Alliance was beginning to wear me down. Their schedule was brutal, but the last two weeks had given me more confidence as a fighter than all the years of training with the self-defense instructor at Saint Vincent’s.

  With that thought, I yawned and swung my restless gaze around my utilitarian room. The walls were a monotonous storm-cloud grey with a single console next to the door that acted as a personal assistant. Other than the monitor, there were no personal decorations whatsoever. My bed, if you could even call it that, was more like a cot with barely enough room for myself, much less another person. It’s not like you’ve been having any sort of company in that way. I moaned out loud as I struggled to throw my legs off the side of the bed. Each muscle in my abdomen objected as I sat up. In the far corner stood a brown dresser packed with variations of the same – black pants, white shirts, and comfortable undergarments. The thought of getting out of bed and dressed for the day filled me with frustration.

  Why don’t have I have a useful Talent, like levitation or telekinesis?

  I stood with care, my mind sluggish from the fitful sleep. Once fully erect, I paused for a moment before making my bed the way Sergeant Smith had taught me and began my morning stretch routine. One of my instructors not only insisted that these movements would help me to limber up, but she gave me some spiel about inner peace and all that crap. I didn’t need inner peace. I needed vengeance.

  It had been two months since Michael, a norm and one of my best friends, was murdered. Recovery from the wounds I’d received saving Lacy, his sister, was slow and tedious. I had to go through weeks of physical therapy before I had full function of my arm and could walk without a limp. Well, most of the time.

  Kian stood by my side for each step of my recovery, but when I had started training with the soldiers two weeks ago, he became distant. It was obvious to me and anyone with a brain that he didn’t approve of my plan to go after my grandfather, Michael’s murderer. He wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger, but he hired the man who had.

  Link. Just thinking his name churned my stomach.

  My fingers skimmed over the puckered scar from the gunshot wound in my thigh as I exchanged my pajama pants for the black cargo pants all members of the HCA Underground wore when on active duty. Everyone in the Underground facility—which I now called home—wore them. Every time I donned the uniform it filled me with a sense of belonging and pride.

  A knock sounded. I grabbed a hair tie and, with a slight limp, made my way to the door. Tomorrow I would extend my morning stretch routine; this morning’s workout didn’t release the tightened muscles like it usually did.

  I opened the door, my back stiff and shoulders pulled back, trying to hide my weakness. On the other side, Kian leaned against the door frame looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His golden hair was wet, making it look darker than usual. His typical smugness was replaced with a cautious smile. My cobalt eyes strayed to his lips and lingered. I licked mine, remembering the kiss we shared.

  God, how I wish time could rewind so I could relive that one moment. His kiss made me feel alive again and damn it all, I haven’t felt that way since.

  “Are you almost ready?” He raked his fingers through his damp hair. He had cut it since yesterday. It was shorter on the sides and longer on the top, his curls falling just short of his eyes and giving him a playful look. It suited him.

  “Yes.” I stepped back and invited him inside with a sweep of my arm.

  “Is your leg still bothering you?”

  “Not all the time. Some mornings I wake up stiff, but it usually loosens up after I move around for a while.”

  “Hmmm,” was all he said as he threw himself on my bed. His large frame engulfed it and pulled free the hospital corners I had carefully fixed earlier. A sigh escaped as my traitorous heart leapt at the sight of him on my bed. I struggled between the desire to jump on him and kiss him senseless and to punch him in the throat for being so damned distant.

  “I’ll fix it before we head to chow.” Kian pointed to the bed before placing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes. I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see it, silently thanked the stars that he misunderstood that sigh, and turned to walk toward the dresser. Chastising myself for letting my hormones dictate my mind, I grabbed my brush and began the task of forcing my thick snow white hair into a low, tight bun. My gaze flicked toward Kian every few seconds.

  Every morning, he showed up at my door, waited patiently for me to finish getting ready for the day, and walked with me to each meal and lesson. Sometimes he would participate in the lessons, but usually he left and went god knew where else. He was always waiting for me at the end.

  I couldn’t fault the guy for his faithfulness, but a part of me wondered why he stuck around.

  Kian’s brows knitted in a frown. “Stop staring at me.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip before responding. “I… uh… It’s weird how you knew I was looking.”

  “I am acutely aware of everything you do.” He sat up and raked his gaze over my body, starting from my legs and taking his time to return his gaze to mine, eventually fixating on my hair. “I don’t like the bun. It makes you look severe.”

  “My hair is a distraction when fighting.”

  “I get it, but you never wear it down anymore.” Kian lowered his
eyes. “You look like a completely different person.”

  “I am different. The naïve, lost Sadie you ran into at the party is gone. This—” I placed my hand upon my chest and leveled a glowering look at Kian, “—this is what I have to become in order to right the wrongs my family has caused. I have found a way to bring retribution to a man who has killed people in my life.”

  “You are not responsible for your grandfather’s actions, and you certainly don’t have to stoop to his level. You’re not a murderer, Sadie.” Kian’s voice stayed level, but his eyes burned with anger.

  “I have killed, Kian.”

  “Not in cold blood. What happened at the orphanage was an accident.”

  “True, but how much longer until my grandfather comes for Madison or Rebecca?” I could see that this familiar argument was going nowhere fast, so I changed tactics. “What about you?”

  “Me?” His brow wrinkled in confusion. “What about me? Even if he knows I am helping you, why would he go after me?”

  “Because you and I have been seen together on multiple occasions.”

  “I fail to see how us being seen together a few times is equal to your two closest friends.” He paused and ran his fingers through his golden hair before turning and narrowing his gaze on me. “This isn’t about me.

  “It has everything to do with you.” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “He’ll come after you because I care for you, Kian. When you are around my soul is content, even when every inch of my body is vibrating, waiting until you touch me. When in danger, you fight beside me instead of trying to shield me from it. You jumped headfirst into this crazy life of mine and haven’t left yet.” I eyed Kian with a boldness that belied the quaking panic churning deep in my stomach, demanding a response and fearing his answer all the same.

  Kian stood, his movements measured and brow furrowed as his mouth turned grim. My stomach plummeted. I had poured my heart out and he was going to shoot me down. You shouldn’t be surprised with the way he’s been acting lately. I tracked Kian’s movements as he meandered toward the door and reached out for the knob. He paused and fixed his tortured gaze on me.