A few hours later, Isabella woke up.
At first, she did not open her eyes fully. Her body was still too heavy, and for a moment she felt as if she had been buried under warm furs and left there to become part of the bed. Her arms were sore. Her waist was sore. Her lower body still carried a dull pain that reminded her very clearly that giving birth was not something a person could simply sleep off and forget.
But it was different from before.
The terrible pressure was gone.
The feeling that her body was about to split apart was gone.
She was still tired, and there were places that ached so much she did not even want to think about them, but she could breathe without feeling like the next wave of pain was waiting to drag her under again.
For a few breaths, she only lay there quietly and listened.
