The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 155: Fighting for Each Other

After a long pause, Shin-ah broke the silence. He crossed his arms and his golden orbs narrowed, the usually vibrant color hindered by the cloudiness creeping in around the edges.

His mouth barely moved. "No more."

She balked. "W-What?"

"... Please." He added on so quietly she had to strain to hear him. "I'm scared... you'll die."

After mulling over it ceaselessly for the last couple of days, that was the only solution he could come up with. No more fights. He couldn't take it.

Her breath caught in her throat and her body shook uncontrollably.

Shin-ah's gaze darted away from her and without looking at her, he secured his coat around her without a word. Apparently, she hadn't been so sneaky in covering up her shivering. But his fingers left so fast that she was left wondering if he had really touched her at all.

"Shin-ah, I can't just stop." Calista pleaded, unsure what she was really defending.

Was it because she didn't know who she was without it?

No.

He had shown her what it was like to relax and be herself. She reverted back to a clumsy child who gawked at anything and everything. Thanks to their odd band of friends, that was possible.

Then why—

Her eyes cleared and her whole body went lax as her lips parted in defeated astonishment.

"Shin-ah."

He reluctantly locked eyes with her but his uncertainty gave way to concern when she bowed her head in front of him, that same gesture she showed only when she was sincerely apologetic.

She had already given up on getting him back, fearing that he was too far gone from her. She could no longer reach him.

This was it.

"I can't abandon Yona like that." Calista whispered evenly, the only clue that she was at all bothered was the way her shoulders trembled. "I pledged my loyalty to her the night she escaped Soo-won, and that means being someone she can use at any time, no matter what cost."

With every word, her heart shattered and the distance between them grew as she turned the other way. Tears caught in her eyelashes as she raised her head, the depths of despair weighing in her grey eyes giving away the real meaning.

Shin-ah started when he saw how deeply it hurt her to say that.

She couldn't prioritize what he wanted above what she had dedicated to the princess. She couldn't prioritize him above her.

And it broke her heart.

The reason wasn't lost on Shin-ah and his blue hair fell into his eyes as he bowed his head. "... I understand."

That should've been the end of it.

The heartbreak would've ended with a parting that would've had them both crying in opposite rooms with the door locked so that the other couldn't check up on them like they normally would have. The guilt would've transpired into regret and agony. They would've found that they dragged their feet when it came to the things they usually looked forward to doing together, replaced only with a hollow and empty feeling that made them sick to their stomachs.

And the pure-hearted blue dragon and the hard-as-nails assassin would've been left broken.

At least, that's what would've happened if Calista stopped talking or if Shin-ah had actually taken a step towards the door to leave.