wrath of the Sea Queen (209 page)

"
I eventually convinced the man to release Max and leave.  I walk
ed
along the edge of the water to calm my nerves before going to
pull
Max
out of hiding
.  The next thing I knew, I woke up in the cave, battered and hurting.  I heard the explosion
at the hotel
and helped put the flames
out
before falling asleep again.  Truth be told, I think I
was overcome by
exhaustion.
  I know that I fought someone
when I
first
entered
th
e
cave
, but I don't know
how I came to be there
.
  Vin found me
in the cave
about an hour
after the explosion
, I think.  I'm not
certain
about the timeline.
"

"
It was
actually
several hours later, but that's not important right now.  You don't recall anything
more
before or after
the fight
?  You don't remember
where you were before
going into the cave or any other details?
"

"
Some, yes
; and I shared those with Vin
.  I know that if Urim had not found me, I would not have survived," C
a
eli announced
as if reading the Sunday paper
.

"
You would have died
!
? 
C
a
eli, please
!
 
First you tell me you were stabbed and now that you might have died. 
M
y heart can't take
m
any more
bold
revelations like that
. 
Try easing into such news. 
What do you mean you would
n
o
t have survived?"  Salma did not like the way that C
a
eli kep
t
such details to herself.

"
I mean
exactly
that,
Salma. 
I
did
not w
i
n
that fight
in the cave
.  I'm not entirely sure which injury was the final straw
because I cannot remember the end of the fight;
but
, I know that
Urim healed me enough
so
that I would not die.  Urim
is also
responsible for the gap in my memory. 
I believe h
e
was trying to do me a favor by temporarily
blocking
the
damaging details from my
mind,
" C
a
eli explained.

"
D
oes Vin know
about th
is
?"  Salma chastised C
a
eli out of concern for her safety.

"Vin knows
as much as I do
. 
He also spoke to
Urim."

"
All right then
, for now.  But
something has
definitely
changed in
you," Salma insisted.

"Now that
you mention it
,
there is
something
. 
I've done my best to bury it. 
Promise not to laugh?  Ever since Vin found me in that cave, even
with
all
my
pain
and exhaustion
, I
ha
ve had a
n incredibly
strong desire to be with him.  Of course, I couldn't
have acted on my feelings before
, but now…
"

"
I don't
find
anything unusual about that. 
Vin i
s your husband, and he rescued you from a dire situation.  That's bound to stir up
some pretty strong
feelings
, not that you two ever simmer down
.  Plus, your pregnancy will
have
your hormones running am
o
k. 
Y
our reaction doesn't surprise me at all,
"
Salma said.

"
I don't think you understand, Salma.  I
t's more than that.  I think it happened to Vin, too.  When we were in the cave,
Rika
used me to do something to him.  She called it pulling his strings.  Earlier, when Vin kissed me, I felt the same overwhelming desire coming from him. 
It was like h
e needed to be with me.
"

"
I'm sorry, C
a
eli.  I
simply
don't see the problem.  You two have always been like that.  As long as I've known you, you
ha
ve never been able to keep your hands off each other.  I don't understand the difference you're trying to describe.  What exactly did
Rika
do?
"

"
She touched
Vin's
chest, and I could feel energy flowing
from me
to him
. 
I don't know what she
intended
.  Now,
we both have
this
feeling
.  It
is almost a sense of…urgency
. 
I feel a
s if something inside of me is rushing against a deadline.  I need to be with
Vin
,
"
C
a
eli struggled to describe
th
is new,
negative aspect of
what
had always been a pleasantly undeniable and irresistible physical attraction between her and Vin
. 

"
Need to?  What deadline?
"
  Salma was still baffled.

"
I don't
know
.
  I don't
have that answer
.  Of course, now that I say it out loud, it does sound rather
absurd.  Like you said, Vin
has always
had
a
fantastically
unsettling
effect on me
,
ever
since the moment we met
.
"

"And you on him.  Remember, I saw you both the day you met.  I never saw two people so clearly in love and so blindly unaware of it," Salma smiled.

"Well, it didn't take us long to figure it out.  But, maybe you're right, Salma.  Perhaps it ha
s
something to do with
my hormones
, too
.  I
ha
ve never had them run
ning
am
o
k before
. 
I suppose
all of
this could be perfectly normal.  Is it normal for pregnan
t women to feel like this
?
"

"
I wouldn't worry about it,
Dear
.  It's not
exactly
a medical problem,
"
Salma winked at her, but then continued seriously,
"
unless you are considering acting on it.  That's definitely not a good idea. 
You
a
re already tire
d
; that
sort of exercise
would
most certainly
exhaust you and probably aggravate your
remaining
injuries
, especially your ribs
. 
Despite your remarkable recovery, y
ou
a
re
still
too fragile for such
entertainment
. 
I'm quite certain that sort of
escapade
would set
your recovery back considerably
.
"

"
You
a
re probably right, but this
is
our vacation,
"
C
a
eli replied with a slight smile
,
which almost reminded Salma of C
a
eli's usual
,
fun-loving
personality.

"C
a
eli, before we go back, there is
one more thing
I want to tell you," Salma was now the wary news reporter.

"What's that?"

"I
discovered a disturbing bit of news
about your friend Lara.  Did you know she was originally from Hawaii?"