wrath of the Sea Queen (193 page)

"
Vin, it was
horrible.
"
H
er voice sounded raspy as she quickly
recounted
the details
of
the choice she faced
in
the dream.

Vin noticed the strain
i
n her voice.  Her throat
seemed
drier than if she
ha
d been
stumbling
through
a
desert
for
day
s
.  C
a
eli began to cough, sending spasms of pain throughout her
battered
body.  Vin
offered her a glass of water
and
held it out to her
.  T
h
e adrenaline still pumping through her body allowed her to
hold it
for
herself
. 
C
a
eli took several deep drinks
.
  When she finished,
Vin sat the empty glass on the bedside table and then helped C
a
eli
adjust
to a
more comfortable
position
.

"
Better?
"
 

"
Yes, thanks.
"

There was a
n urgent
knock on the door
, and
Vin got up to answer it.  He looked through the peephole to see Ben and Salma standing outside
, and then
opened the door
for
them.

"
Is e
verything ok?  We were
in
the hall and heard C
a
eli
yell
,
"
Ben inquired.

"
Yes, just a
nother
bad dream.  She's fine,
"
Vin answered.

But
,
like Vin,
Ben was beginning to doubt that. 
C
a
eli was anything but fine. 
He made a mental note to mention his suspicions to Vin when they could
talk
privately.
  He did not want to unduly worry the ladies.

"
Salma
!
"
C
a
eli
called
a little
hoarsely
from across the room.

Salma moved to the bed to talk to C
a
eli, leaving the guys standing in the doorway.  Vin invited Ben
further
into the room and closed the door.  They st
ood
near the door where they could
begin that
talk
Ben wanted
.

"
How did she take the news?
"
  Ben
asked
.

"
Once I got through to her,
she seemed pleased
.  I'm sure it was your soup that made all the difference,
"
Vin answered.

"
Naturally, I once
heard
that chicken soup is good for just about everything.
 
S
eriously
though
, what was the problem?  I
should think
C
a
eli
would welcome the news.
 
It s
eems unlike her not to be excited about it.
"

"
I thought so, too. 
It's not that she wasn't happy about the news; it's something more. 
Ben,
I'm afraid
she's slipping away from me
. 
She
puts up a good front, but I see through it.  S
he has no appetite
.  She
i
s
constantly
tired. 
You said you thought
C
a
eli
was ready to take a stand, but
all
I
see
is
guilt
and sadness
eating away at her
with each
subsequent
event
. 
And it's not over yet.  Raphael said she has something worse
yet to face
.  I'm worried.  I know that she is trying her best, but
I've never seen
C
a
eli
like this. 
Quite frankly
, it scares the hell out of me."

"
Well, you can't expect her to rebound as if no
thing
has
happened. 
Even C
a
eli's bubbly personality cannot ignore so much heartache and injury. 
Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. 
She will have scars
when this is over
, physical and emotional. 
It will take time for those scars to fade. 
Right now, they aren't even that.  The wounds are still fresh. 
I would be more concerned if she wasn't questioning herself and struggling
to
regain solid footing
. 
C
ontinue to be supportive
, Vin
.  Be patient.  This all happened so fast, she probably hasn't been able to keep up.  Give her time to adjust.  She
wi
ll come around as soon as she can wrap he
r mind around everything
.
"
Ben, true to character, reminded Vin to step back and see the bigger picture.  Vin was so close to C
a
eli's current emotional state that
he had
lost
his perspective
and objectivity
.

"I am doing my best.
 
Yet, n
othing I do seems to
make a difference
,
"
Vin commented.

"
You may not see it directly, but I
a
m certain that your efforts are having a positive effect
.  Keep doing what you are doing,
and i
t will
see you both through this
," Ben assured him.

"
I hope you're right, Ben.  So, w
here were you and Salma headed?"

"
We
were looking for Max.  Salma
picked up on
something
when I told her about
C
a
eli's
chang
ing
eye color
.  She
insists that both
Max and C
a
eli know more than they've told us.  We were going to try to learn
something
more from Max, but if C
a
eli's in a mood to talk, we might have more luck
getting the story from
her.  Do you think she's up for it?
"

"
I don't know.  We can ask
her
,
"
Vin offered.

"
Salma, are you ok?  Vin said the men were
protestor
s,
and
that
Colonel Franks and Jeremy
are
here.  I'm so sorry that I couldn't help you
; that I
let them take you away
.
"
  C
a
eli was
upset
,
but did not
unleash
her tears this time. 
Instead, they pooled in the corners of her eyes.  C
a
eli found herself crying
much
too frequently of
late
.  She decided that it must be
part of
the hormonal changes Salma told her to expect
when they
initially
discussed her pregnancy
.  Salma
handed
C
a
eli a tissue so she could wipe the tears away.
 
As C
a
eli spoke, t
hey managed to escape after all.

"
Now cut that out. 
You aren't to blame
.  I'm fine, as you can see. 
A
whole team of good looking men c
a
me to my rescue.  Kind of makes a lady feel special.  Then Ben goes and ruins it by threatening to arrest me.
"

"
He didn't?  Why
woul
d
he do that?
"
  C
a
eli
gave a small laugh as she
imag
in
e
d
Ben doing
exactly
such a thing.  He was
the perfect
match for Salma's personality.  Unfortunately, th
at
small laugh
made C
a
eli cough.  A subsequent
round of pain
in her chest and midsection
stopped C
a
eli's amusement in its tracks.