But I just reached into my magic bag and pulled out my cellphone. Somehow it hadn’t lost battery yet. I clicked on the flashlight and made my way up the stairs. At the top, I found a room with a circular shape like we were in one of the towers. There were big open arched windows on the far side with the lightening sky in perfect view. I clicked my flashlight off then turned my phone off. I needed to make sure there was battery left when I got home in case shit went wrong. And I could not risk Sweyn finding pictures of Auryn, Akecheta, and Rae in it. Off was safer. Once that was in my bag I walked over to the windows and peered out.

The sun was rising in the distance, turning the sky a pretty bright blue the same color as the blue in Everest’s eyes. The stars were getting their last twinkles in for the night before daylight washed them away. The snow down below looked like pale blue glitter. This is the skin of a killer, Bella. I giggled at my own joke. Then I turned to face the rest of the room and realized this room had no other doors. There wasn’t much furniture in here, either, except for some kind of a bed that sat flat on the ground. There was also a smaller hearth located directly above where the one in the lower room was. It wasn’t lit.

It should’ve been cold in here, freezing even. But that kiss on the stairs had turned my blood to molten lava. I was burning. Any second steam would billow from my skin. I didn’t need a fireplace if I had Everest.

And I wanted him.

The other times I’d seen him in my time traveling had been full of emotion, lots of sadness and pain. He hadn’t tried to touch me, he’d barely kissed me with passion. But that kiss a minute ago was a volcano ready to erupt.

He hadn’t had me in five hundred years.

I was going to change that right now.

My fancy red gown was far too much fabric, I needed it out of the way so I carefully peeled myself out of it. Once it was off, I tossed it to the top of the stairs so it would be the first thing he saw. I reached under my dress and slid off my stretchy shorts, he didn’t need to see another sneak peak at the future. Those got shoved into my magic bag, which I sat at the edge of the bed close to the hearth.