A Court of Dark and Decay

Chapter 34- Fog Of Madness

Iona blinked back hot heavy tears as she lay face down on the table.

Today was the beginning of her second week in the damp room carved into the mountain and her first day of rehabilitation the Verra.

 Verra had been nothing but kind, nothing but soft smiles and kind words as they began this process an hour and a half ago. But there was none of that kindness now.

"Come on Iona. I just need five more. Five more lifts." Thier soft voice betrayed the torture they were giving. 

Iona resisted the urge to scream. Five more. 

The muscles in her back raged against her, her shoulder blades unacustom to the weight and the pressure, her neck straining against the skeletal frame of her wings as she did as Verra asked. 

Stretching her wings out as far as they could go, Iona lifted once. 

Twice. 

Three times. 

Her whole body was on fire. She resisted the urge to ask Verra to cut her wings off completely. Anything to end of this torture. But Verra would say no.

Iona knew that because she had asked Verra before.

Four.

Five. 

"Great job, Iona. I'm going to apply a soothing gel now. You'll feel cool tingle and then you should feel numbness. You're going to ache horribly tomorrow, but know that means we made progress."

Iona said nothing, simply grated her teeth as her lungs strained to breathe.

"Iona?"

Again, the Illyrian said nothing as the healer's hands glided gently along her back. The cooling sensation felt like the Mother herself was kissing Iona's back. The numbness started to settle down her spine, any Iona sighed. 

"Iona? Iona, are you all right?" 

Iona found her mouth was finallly ready to respond, to speak again. 

"I'm all right."

After a long silence and Verra's gracious and talented hands gliding along her back, Iona spoke again.

"That was a lot harder than I thought it would be."

Verra's laugh fluttered through the air. "At first, it will only get harder, Iona."

Iona felt a twinge of fear at the thought of anything being harder than what she had just experienced. 

"But," Verra began massaging out the knots in Iona's shoulder blades- which Iona thanked the Mother for. 

"After about the third or fourth time, you will suddenly find that you can lift them higher and higher, hold them in the air for longer, and you'll find pain is secondary progress."

Iona groaned slightly as Verra worked particularly difficult knot in her shoulder. 

"Thank you, Verra." Iona didn't need to lift her head or turn her neck from the table to know the Verra was smiling. 

"You're an easy patient. Quiet, kind." As the numbness spread over her, back Iona felt Verra begin to re-wrap her wings and the wounds at the base of them.

 "Many men who came from battle with wing injuries wouldn't even let me touch them. Or if I did they would never agree to the proper rehabilitation practices. Now they walk around ashamed of a wingspan I could've fixed."

Iona laughed to herself, "Not that any of them had a very impressive wingspan to begin with."

Verra laughed again, the sound bringing a rosy color to Iona's cheeks.