Skye Tierney

"Don't start with me about how I need a 'normal life'. After this, I don't get to be normal. Not ever. I'm always going to have these powers. I'm always going to have vampires after me. If you walk away from me, you're not saving me from anything. Do you understand? If you walk away from me, it's because you want to. If you stay with me, it's because you need to."

- Skye to Balthazar

Skye Tierney is a human girl and a psychic who attended Evernight Academy (until it was burned down for good in Afterlife). She is also one of the main protagonists of Balthazar, becoming Balthazar More's new love interest. It is revealed in Balthazar that she has developed psychic abilities after the events of the previous novel.

Background
Skye is the youngest of two children. She had an older brother named Dakota, whom she was very close to. The house Skye grew up in was haunted by a young girl. Skye wasn't afraid of the wraith and would sometimes play with her. Skye attended Darby Glen High School, where she dated a boy named Craig Weathers. She was enrolled into Evernight Academy as a sophomore, where she befriended Clementine Nicholls. She once attended the Autumn Ball inadvertently wearing the same dress as Courtney Briganti, earning her the other girl's animosity. Skye was also Raquel Vargas' lab partner during the latter's sophomore year and the pair seemed friendly to each other. A year before the events of Afterlife and Balthazar, Dakota was killed in a freak accident, devastating her.

Afterlife
Whilst attending Evernight, Skye befriends Lucas Ross, unaware he is a recently risen vampire. She spends a lot of time with him, helping support him even though she doesn't fully understand what is wrong with him and even attends the Autumn Ball with him. She reveals that Craig broke up with her - shortly after they slept together for the first time - and almost immediately began dating Britnee Fong, causing her further grief. Skye collapsed during the Ball with other human students and was briefly taken possession of by a wraith. During the battle at Evernight between Mrs Bethany and the vampires loyal to her, the other vampires and the wraiths, Skye finally learns the truth about Evernight. Although frightened, Skye remains loyal to her friends and even willingly allows Bianca Olivier to possess her to help defeat Mrs Bethany.

Balthazar
Five weeks after the destruction of Evernight, Skye returns to her old school, Darby Glen High. She is unhappy about returning, as she will have to face her ex-boyfriend Craig and his new girlfriend, Britnee. The other students also tease her for being a "snob". Skye has also discovered she now has psychic powers, which she developed after being possessed by Bianca. The powers cause her to vividly experience the deaths of people whenever she stumbles onto the place where they died - in addition to be very physically uncomfortable, these visions are also quite traumatic, as they are often violent or sudden deaths. Whilst riding her horse Eb through the woods, Skye is chased by a vampire she comes to learn is named Lorenzo. Fortunately, Balthazar, having been tipped off by Lucas, comes to her rescue, driving away Lorenzo and escorting Skye back to her house. She is glad to see Balthazar, with it becoming clear she had a crush on him the previous year that has since developed into a strong, mutual attraction. Balthazar decides to act as Skye's bodyguard, even getting a job at her school as a teacher to keep an eye on her.

More to be added...

Personality
Skye is depicted as being a courageous and strong-willed girl, willing to put her own life at risk to help others. However, she has good survival instincts and tries not to put herself into unnecessary danger. She is shown to be a quick thinker and makes valiant attempts to keep her cool during a crisis. Skye tends to keep her negative emotions and problems to herself. She also has a rather sarcastic sense of humour, even in the face of mortal peril. She is also very compassionate and empathetic towards others.

Skye is fond of horse riding and feels that horses and other animals have far more emotional depth and feeling than most people give them credit for. Skye usually thinks and acts in a logical manner and is surprisingly mature and insightful for her age, though she occasionally behaves in a more childish manner, such as dressing in provocative clothing to make Balthazar jealous out of annoyance at his rejection, and laughing at Madison's snide comments about Britnee, though she concedes in the latter case that what she is doing is wrong and regrets her actions. Since the death of her brother, Skye has become more socially withdrawn and somewhat melancholy, though she tries to stay positive. She feels isolated and trapped in her grief, unable to talk to anyone about it and not wanting to upset her parents. She eventually accepts that bottling up her emotions is making the problem worse and that even though it may be painful, remembering her brother is the best way to show that she still loves him and that he is a part of her.

In regards to her powers, Skye initially finds them them to be overwhelming and frightening, wishing she were normal. However, in the end she embraces her abilities as part of her and looks forward to being able to them to potentially help people, both living and deceased.

Physical Appearance
Skye is an attractive girl, with deep, auburn brown hair. She has pale blue eyes, as well as a "lithe" figure and shapely legs, due to years of horse riding. Skye is slightly over average height; she is mentioned as being taller than Bianca Olivier, who is around average height. When standing next to Lucas Ross - who is said to be tall - Skye is almost level with his face, though she is still shorter than Balthazar, who is nearly 6ft tall.

Balthazar More
Skye is revealed to have had a crush on Balthazar, regarding him as being very attractive, during her first few years at Evernight. However, due to the fact she still going out with Craig at the time, whom she genuinely cared for, she never developed deeper feelings for Balthazar until later. After Craig broke up with her, Skye's feelings for Balthazar became much stronger, eventually blossoming into love. Skye is unconcerned that Balthazar is a vampire, loving him for the brave and sensitive man he is beneath that. She is also unfazed by the large age gap between them. Skye is left hurt and frustrated by Balthazar's initial rejection of her, even though she knows why he is holding himself apart from her. She even deliberately wears attractive clothes in an attempt to make him jealous. She is overjoyed when Balthazar finally reciprocates and they begin a relationship.

Skye states she doesn't care that Balthazar will never age whilst she will, saying that what other people think doesn't matter to her and even jokingly (or perhaps not so jokingly) claiming that she'll just tell people she's a cougar when she becomes noticeably physically older than Balthazar. Skye has little concern about the differences between them, focusing on the similarities instead. She admires Balthazar's courage and compassion, and also finds him easy to talk to and a good listener. She feels that he is one of the few people that understands her and he helps her come to terms with Dakota's death and her newfound powers. Skye always feels safe in his presence and is content to leave behind everything from her old life, if only it means that Balthazar can be with her.

Dakota Tierney
Skye loved her brother dearly. They were very close growing up; though they occasionally bickered or played pranks on each other, as siblings often do, Skye had nothing but admiration for her brother. Skye was devastated by his death, struggling to cope with it initially. Skye clearly wants to talk about Dakota and keep his memory alive, and is hurt by the fact her parents are not very supportive of her and act like Dakota never existed. Skye finds that talking about with Balthazar, who understands how she feels, helps her greatly. She is also able to say a proper goodbye to Dakota after encountering his spirit, and is happy to hear that he will never truly leave her and that she can use her powers to communicate with him when ever she wants, even if she cannot see him anymore.

Lucas Ross
Skye befriends Lucas during her last year at Evernight. She sees in him a kindred spirit; another person in pain and grieving. She stands up for him against the 'Evernight types' and tries to be supportive of him, even though she does not fully understand what is wrong. Skye empathises with Lucas after he tells her about the 'death' of his girlfriend Bianca. She clearly cares about Lucas a great deal and appreciates his attempts to help her, later describing him as "the best guy friend she ever had", even after learning he was a vampire. She is relieved to learn Lucas is finally happy again after becoming human once more.

Bianca Olivier
Skye doesn't know Bianca well, but she implicitly trusts her and allows her to posess her to save her, partly because of her friendship with Lucas. Skye doesn't seem to bear a grudge or any ill-feeling towards Bianca despite her being partly responsible for the awakening of Skye's powers. She is grateful to Bianca for coming to help protect her from Redgrave and is happy that she and Lucas can be together.

Powers and Abilities
Skye is a skilled horsewoman and is also physically stronger than most girls her age due to growing up lifting and carrying heavy saddles. She also develops psychic powers that allow her to vividly see and experience the deaths of people from various time periods whenever she stumbles onto the site of their death. It is suggested she was born with innate abilities, which remained dormant until she willingly allowed Bianca to possess her.

Appearances

 * Afterlife
 * Balthazar

Quotes

 * "If it helps any, I believe - no, I know - the dead aren't truly gone. They watch us. They're close by. And I think they realize how much we love them, maybe more than they did when they were alive."
 * "Don't start with me about how I need a 'normal life'. After this, I don't get to be normal. Not ever. I'm always going to have these powers. I'm always going to have vampires after me. If you walk away from me, you're not saving me from anything. Do you understand? If you walk away from me, it's because you want to. If you stay with me, it's because you need to."
 * "[...]You try to push the person you lost away, but you can't. You have to hold on to them, on to how much you loved them. Because you don't lose someone when they die. You only lose them when you forget the love you had together."
 * " The vampires might have taken her home away from her, but she'd be damned if they'd get her horse too."

Trivia

 * The name Skye - also spelt Sky, is a unisex name - it could refer to the Isle of Skye in Scotland, or is derived from the word 'sky', referring to the actual sky.


 * Tierney is an Irish surname, meaning 'lord' or 'chief', from the Gaelic name Tigernach.
 * Both Skye and her brother Dakota have unisex names.