Jun Kai slept less.
Not because he couldn't.
He had trained himself to sleep anywhere...on stone, on horseback, between drills. He could shut his eyes and fall into disciplined rest when necessary.
But he no longer trusted what waited for him when he did.
Dreams came too easily now.
Not vivid ones. Not indulgent ones filled with fantasy or exaggerated memory.
Just fragments.
The sound of rain striking stone in uneven rhythm.
The echo of thunder too distant to be dangerous, too close to ignore.
The weight of another body within arm's reach...close enough that breathing blurred into shared air. Close enough that hesitation felt louder than instinct.
He would wake before the memory sharpened.
Before he could decide whether he had reached out...or pulled away.
On the fourth morning, he woke before dawn with his jaw clenched and his hands curled into fists so tightly that his knuckles had gone pale.
For a moment, he did not move.
