He woke to a dark room, gently lit to the soft flicker of a candle far in the corner. The light was so small and far he could only just make out the shadows of book cases and plants. The room was stagnant, no air to breathe or gain cooling relief from the burning fever that coursed through his veins. Sweat dripped from Sebastian’s brow and upper lip. He tried to swipe at it, but his wrists were held down, pinning him to the cold slab he lay upon. After a moment of tugging, he realised that the restraints were not metal or rope, but flesh. Hands coiled around his wrists as he attempted to trash, razor talons biting into his sensitive skin of his wrist.

A black shadow loomed above the back of his head to stare down at him. Long black hair fell down in a waterfall cascade to create a curtain around their faces. He tried to focus on the face in front of him; what he could see in the dim light shocked him to his core. Ethereal white skin softly glowed against the candle light that filtered through the strands of hair. Black hollow eyes peered into his soul and Sebastian audibly swallowed his fear. The wraith gave a cold smile, it sent ice and shivers down his spine, but gave no relief for the fever. “Pretty, pretty. Give me your power” She cooed. Plump lips forming into an odd chant, the words ancient and otherworldly as Sebastian lulled into unconsciousness.

The knocking at his door made Sebastian jolt awake, his eyes darting around the familiar blue and mahogany furnishing of his room. Sebastian exhaled a shuddered breath he had not realised he held, and wiped the sweat off his brow; glad no hands pinned him down this time. “Come in.” He growled, the dream had unsettled him and he did not appreciate the wraith that haunts his dreams recently.

Laryssa opened the door with her own growl of ire. “The girl is awake.”

“And?”

“And nothing. She’s keeping lots of secrets.”

This added fuel to Sebastians fire, he grunted and leaned back into his feather soft pillows with a wince that wasn’t unnoticed. Laryssa rushed over to the table across the room, grabbing water, herbs and a bowl to grind them into a paste.

And just like that, Laryssa started tending to his wounded shoulder. Taking off bandages and smearing paste against the hole to promote healing and stave off infection. He’d be better within a few days, especially with the healing paste. His current state pushed Sebastians uneasiness to anxiety. He’d been injured worse in the past, but not when he was on the brink of leading a war. He needed to spend every moment he could gathering resources and allies for what’s to come; not resting, no matter how weak he felt.

Laryssa sat by his side, waiting to rebandage his shoulder to let the wound and paste air. She sighed and leaned back before relaying her interrogation with the girl – Jessica.

“You’re the people's person, what did you make of her?” Laryssa was his right hand to the throne, she was a spy master, politician and diplomate rolled into one fierce woman, she could read anyone like an open book.

“She’s lying. She knows more than she’s letting on, and the power she refuses to explain is a danger to us. She could kill us all on this ship, it was foolish to bring her here. Why are you chancing this for the box?”

“What do the winds say.”

Laryssa halted, looking uncomfortable and irritated. She refused to meet his gaze as she spoke. “They will not speak of her, other than to tell me to protect her.”

“Protect her? From what?” Startled, Sebastian pondered this. Laryssa could be one of the strongest wind users in the world, and if she willed it the wind could speak any secret she actively searched for.

“I do not know, the powers that be will not will it to be uncovered.” With another sigh she got up off her stall to walk towards the open door, before hovering at the threshold. “Her bruises speak of imprisonment. So do her eyes when I asked about the medical room we saw.” Sebastian shivered, his dream still haunting him as he remembered the medical table they found at the tower.

“How far have we sailed?” He had been sleeping off and on for the past few days while he recuperated, Laryssa taking the commands of the ships while he was unavailable.

“We’re close to the shore of the cold mountains to the north; we shall stop for supplies with nearby wind villages in a week and sail back out.” Sebastian just nodded his approval, no one would suspect Alintage rebels sailing this far from their base.

“I shall come with you later to visit her.” Laryssa just nodded and closed the door behind herself. Leaving Sebastian to wonder about the strange girl, he did not second guess before dragging her to his ship.

When he awoke to the rubble of the tower, dust, stone and debris covered them all. They were lucky to survive or come out without worse injuries. Both the Laryssa and the girl were fine, other than Jessica’s over exhaustion. Since then, Sebastian had been haunted by odd dreams, not just of wraiths but of forests and books, and felt a calming presence when he dreamed of the ocean.

Laryssa’s words rang in his mind, and he had no answer for her. Sebastian was not sure why he brought Jessica onto the ship. Even considering the box he found, which hummed with strong magic and power that he coveted for the coming war; something else made him grab the unconscious girl and he did not understand what.