I'm gradually becoming an insomniac.
Muscles screamed in silent protest as my body hurt in ways that training hadn't prepared me for.
However, beneath that physical tiredness was a more intense ache, a subtle tension that would not let me sleep.
Even as I sank into my mattress, I felt the faint, persistent pull of Adrian's presence, a pulse in my skull, a shadow of energy that hovered just beyond the edge of consciousness.
Tossing and turning, I told myself it was residue from our training sessions, that the psychic link we'd been pushing was nothing more than lingering aftershocks.
And yet…
Even lying in the dark, with the city's lights spilling faintly through the curtains, I felt him.
Not fully. Just fragments. Flashes of warmth, of grounded strength, like the echo of a hand resting against mine. I clenched my fists beneath the covers, trying to will the sensations away.
They didn't leave.
