Little Dawn

Chapter 12

Casey was laying on her side, her arms hugging her torso as if they could make her forget the devastating news of her father being killed.

She couldn't recall how much time she had spent like that, shedding tears and letting out sobs from her trembling body.

Aundrea sat beside her for an hour or two, but time flew by and now she was alone in her room trying to make sense of why her father was in that place.

Dyron had tried to be with her but Aundrea understood the feeling of wanting to be alone and cry her guts out, so she kept him out of her tent. Casey could hear and feel him outside though.

She repeatedly thought of her mother and her probable reaction to the news, if she still was alive. She would be devastated to know that the love of her life was gone forever.

When she saw that day become night she forced herself to sit up. The pain her stiff body was feeling was nothing compared to the hurt in her heart. Tears started drifting down her cheeks for the thousandth time that day.

A whisper left her lips as she called Dyron's name. She had to repeat it with more volume. A few seconds passed by and he was in front of her.

He stood for a moment glancing at her, his golden eyes scanning her fragile figure. He crouched in front of her and took her hands.

"I can feel your pain, Casey," he whispered.

"It's unbearable," she said between sobs. She was crying again, but this time the arms of the golden-eyed boy surrounded her body.

A few hours later she drifted away in her sleep as a soft breeze wrapped her hot body. Before she could fall into a heavy sleep, nightmares arrived. The memories of her little self and her father turned into horrific deaths and they replayed over and over again. After the fifth time waking up, she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes and soon she evidenced as the night turned into morning. 

Dyron had been with her the whole night, surrounding her tightly with his arms. She felt secure and comfortable with him around and for that she was grateful. Casey was sure he had laid awake for pretty much the whole night, probably because his thoughts also kept him awake. She loved how his breath touched the back of her neck and the warmth his body emanated. 

She thought she could stay there forever, but suddenly a deep feeling started to roll up her body, as she recalled her young self waiting for her dad and his letters for so many years. Her jaw tightened, her breath became stronger and faster, her hands closed into fists and her eyes turned into a deep dark haze. 

She jolted up from the cot and turned to look down at Dyron, who was startled by the sudden movement. 

"I'm going to kill whoever killed him," she stated, turning and stomping out of the tent.

---

The next days Casey woke up early and spent hours training. Some of those days she could feel her body drained, but the thought of her father made her push harder every time.

Dyron and the others had told her to take the training easy, but she didn't want to listen. Her body was exhausted but it was full of rage too. A rage that would go away when the responsible for her father's death was assassinated as well.

The feeling was terrifying, but it was also the only one that kept her wanting to move forward.

Before all of this happened, never in a million years she'd imagined herself feeling such power within her body.

"Casey," Dyron called her from afar.

The evening was chilly and she decided to take a jog in the field.