The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 131: Detachment

Thankfully, no one from the underground had come to look for her.

Or at the very least if they did, they didn't get past Hak's defenses and Jae-ha's traps that they had set in the forest.

They took turns watching over her so that Shin-ah could get some shut eye, each one promising in their own way to wake him up should anything change. Settling into a somewhat comfortable routine, they split up into pairs.

Yoon and Kija were designated for food and supplies, Jae-ha and Hak were in charge of protection and Yona aligned herself with Shin-ah as watcher of the injured.

Zeno looked on fondly from the sidelines, unsure of what he could contribute until the eldest suggested being a secondary guard at night to take some pressure off of an overwhelmed-but-would-never-admit-it Hak.

Their days and nights were starting to get mixed up. It had been weeks since she showed any signs of regaining consciousness. When she finally woke up in the dead of night, she was met face to face with the four dragons, a very worried Yona and an equally terrified Yoon.

A wide smile broke out on Kija's face and Jae-ha slumped back, relieved that she had kept her eyes open for more than a few minutes but they all collectively stiffened at the next words that left her lips.

"Stay back." She commanded strongly even though her throat was itchy and dry.

Her dull eyes were cloudy but they narrowed as they flickered back and forth, analyzing her situation and those around her. Her arms tensed and the guarded expression on her face hardened even more as she tried to move them, only to grimace.

Realization hit them one by one. She wasn't all there.

Zeno and Jae-ha, having no prior knowledge of this since they had joined their group later, didn't know what to do. Their eyes widened in alarm as she ripped out of a slumbering Shin-ah's embrace.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" She spat, shooting up to her feet only for her legs to give out from under her.

Hak and Kija both instinctively reached for her only to be stopped when she snarled at them, eyes flashing with a deep-seated hatred.

The white dragon recoiled back, as if he had been struck. His blue eyes filled with sympathy and hurt as she struggled to get back up again, wanting nothing more than to help her but he didn't know how.

Calista's chest heaved with labored breaths, growing panicked. There were too many of them to take on all at once. She would have to figure out their weaknesses.

"Tell me who you are." She growled menacingly, even though she was backed into the corner of the cave and was at an obvious disadvantage. "Who did this?"

They took one look at her bandaged and splinted arm and shared a look that made her want to tackle the tallest one and make him talk.

"I did."

She whipped her head towards the sound of the voice, only to freeze. A boy with pretty features had his hands planted on his hips and was staring at her with unwavering determination. The breeze that blew by had the feather in his hair dancing with the wind.

The feather.

Groaning, she gripped her head in pain. It felt like it was being split in two. Fragments of a hut she didn't recognize and a man who had his eyes covered by his fringe sent blood pumping through her veins at an unprecedented rate.

And yet.

There was no danger alert. Not one of her senses were going off, warning her of the situation she found herself in and that confused her to no extent.