The transition from the deep, suffocating weight of exhaustion to the gentle shores of consciousness was slow, but it didn't hurt this time. I stirred beneath the heavy velvet comforter, waiting for the violent wave of nausea or the spinning vertigo that had grounded me earlier to strike.
It never came.
I blinked my eyes open, staring up at the dark wooden beams of our bedroom ceiling. I was so incredibly glad I had listened to Demetrius and decided to go back to sleep. A deep, cleansing breath filled my lungs, completely free of the tight, burning restriction that had plagued my chest during my five-day training bicep. I felt remarkably better. The profound, bone-deep depletion that had made me collapse earlier had receded, leaving behind only a mild, dull soreness in my muscles and a l
