The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 133: Regarding Tae-yeon

After Kija and Jae-ha had inspected her condition for themselves, she had shooed them away gently, wanting to talk to her brother. They only left after she reassured them that she would call on them should she need anything.

He stayed squatted down next to her after she ushered Kija and Jae-ha away, deciding that Yona could stay and his cobalt eyes grew wide with untamed fury.

Calista took a deep breath, readying herself for the difficult conversation that was to come. If she dug deep enough, she had a burst of energy for this, she didn't want to keep him in the dark any longer.

But she didn't get a chance to start it as he couldn't wait any longer.

Hak had pounced on her and brought up the thing that had been haunting him ever since he saw that black, braided bracelet.

Pain reflected in the depths of his irises. "Tae-yeon—"

"He's not down there." Calista immediately replied, gazing up at him with such lost eyes that he did a double take.

He didn't say anything for a long time. Occasionally, his breathing pattern would pick up, as if he was going to lose control, but he maintained his self-control. The only thing that gave away his turmoil was his hands clenching at his sides.

Yona's gaze flickered back and forth between the two of them.

"Are you sure?" Was all that he asked in a low voice, careful not to catch the attention of the three dragons bothering Yoon at the entrance of the cave.

Calista nodded firmly. She may have been injured beyond repair but the fact that her youngest brother hadn't actually fallen into Reaper's clutches gave her hope.

Briefly, she explained the Box and its purpose, careful not to dive in too deep before telling them when she figured it out. There was just too much they wouldn't understand and she really didn't want to worry them.

"I realized it after I finished talking to him." She said quietly and Yona leaned forward on her knees to hear her better. "As sick as it is, I know he would've put him somewhere where I could've seen him to get me to react. He's a lot of things but kind is no longer one of them."

Yona was shocked at the wistfulness in her tone but chose not to comment on it. Her mind was still reeling over the fact that Tae-yeon wasn't actually captured.

"How... How do you know that for sure?" She squeaked, afraid that her doubts would end up being true and that the little boy really was in danger.

But Calista shook her head. She was still angry but it was pointless now. Reaper was a very complex individual but stupidity wasn't one of his attributes. He was never one to hold back pawn pieces from serving their use.

The bracelet. The timing of the Enforcers. Her cellmates that she didn't see again after the first day. His conversation with her before they fought. It all went according to his plan and she was blind up until that very moment when he leered above her.

"... You mean you don't know?"

He didn't have him, even though he practically gloated in her face that he did. He never did.

So why did he make it seem like it?

"There's something missing, something he didn't tell me." Calista muttered, now wide awake, spurred on by the desire to figure it out. "Obviously, the bracelet was a lure to get me to go, not that I needed much convincing. He knew I would recognize it but he also knew about the blood protection I gave to the three of them, so why..."

She sighed, letting it go for now and focused on what had happened. "He's never taken me to the Box just to talk. Well, actually he has, but that's not the point."