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I sabel listened to Sebastian checking the lock, waited a few seconds, and checked it herself. Despite being in unfamiliar surroundings, she felt a huge weight fall from her shoulders. At least for now, she was alone with some time to process the events of the last couple of days.

And boy was there a mountain to process.

She climbed under the heavy duvet and curled up in a ball, enjoying the weight of the down-filled blanket on her body.

The mattress was also surprisingly comfortable for something that, if Sebastian’s timeline was correct, was hundreds of years old.

She closed her eyes, taking in the scent of dust and damp stone.

The flickering torches created dancing shadows on the walls, but very little warmth.

She shivered even under the blanket while waiting for it to absorb enough of her body heat to keep her warm.

But her eyes fell on a stack of wood next to the fireplace, and the thought of a crackling fire put a smile on her face.

Isabel tossed two of the split logs into the fireplace along with a small pile of kindling from a box she found on the mantle.

A quick search of the room didn’t reveal any matches, so Isabel instead pulled a torch from the wall and used it to light the kindling. The logs took quite some time to light, being damp from the thick underground air, but eventually the fire took and she put the torch away.

More light and heat filled the room and made Isabel much more comfortable. She felt more like a character in a fantasy novel than a horror story, now. Curiosity took over where fear had been, and she began wandering the room to get a better look at Sebastian’s quarters.

Not that there was much of interest. She picked up a few of the paintbrushes, interested to find bone handles and soft bristles.

The paint pots were long-since dried, some made of metal and others carved from stone.

A wooden wardrobe in the corner held an assortment of men’s clothing that looked like it belonged in a museum.

But it was the closet that gave her pause.

She pulled the door all the way open and peered inside, finding a collection of brightly colored and intricately decorated dresses.

Isabel’s eyes lit up. She pulled the closest dress from the rack and held it against her body.

The deep red fabric was silky and even when just held against her, settled pleasantly.

“I have to try this on,” she announced to the empty room and began stripping to her underclothes.

She stepped into the dress and struggled to tighten the ribbon in the back which closed the garment.

Eventually she was able to squirm and stretch and contort enough to get the dress closed.

She ran her hands down the soft fabric and smiled.

Something about the dress felt so right and so comfortable.

Then it struck her. This was the dress from the painting back in Vernazza! She rifled through the other dresses, finding more familiar ones. But strangely, some of them brought to her memory scents or sounds that she had no context for.

On touching a ruffled cream-and midnight Renaissance gown, an image of a moonlit garden filled her mind.

Cherub statues and gushing fountains sprouted from amongst the dark greenery and bright blossoms. Crickets serenaded the moon and a soft breeze rustled her hair.

She looked to her right and saw Sebastian in a smart doublet and frilled collar.

He smiled, the stars in his eyes shining only for her. His mouth opened, but before she could hear his words, the vision faded. Isabel shook her head slightly as if trying to dislodge the strange scene from her brain. What in the world was that?

She moved that dress out of the way and ran her fingers down the next, a light blue gown with plenty of ruffles.

Another vision overtook her eyes, this time the bright sun shining down as she stood on a white-sand beach.

The surf crashed behind her, filling the air with the scent of salt and seaweed.

Her bare feet felt pleasantly warm on the sun-baked sand and her cheeks stung from a little too much exposure.

A handsome man with doleful brown eyes and carefully-styled, short brown hair stood by her side.

His face was soft and his frame was wiry with youth, and his shoulders slumped as he glanced over to her.

“I thought we would be wed when we reached this age,” he sighed, reaching for her hand.

But he withdrew it before making contact with her skin, and turned his face away.

“I can’t believe you’ve chosen someone else.

And now you’re moving to Venice for him?

It’s like I don’t even know you anymore! ”

Again the vision faded, and this time Isabel found tears running down her cheeks. “Joshua,” she whispered, though she didn’t quite understand how she knew the man’s name. The visions felt just like memories. Her memories, as impossible as that was.

Or was it? Sebastian had mentioned ‘getting her memories back’ multiple times. Was this what he meant? Was she really seeing glimpses of lives she had already lived? The thought sent a shiver through her core out to her extremities.

She took a step away from the closet, but paused. One more shouldn’t hurt, right? Her hand trembled as she reached out for another dress, this one the red wedding gown she recognized from Sebastian’s painting. Her fingers barely touched the fabric before another vision burst to life.

Her surroundings changed very little. The room was less dusty and more tidy, and a much larger fire roared on the hearth. She found herself being carried in Sebastian’s strong arms and laughter bubbling from her lips.

“Finally!” Sebastian exclaimed, closing the door behind him with his foot and depositing Isabel on the bed.

He unbuttoned his coat and the shirt beneath it, exposing his pale chest. “We don’t have to wait any longer!

” He wrapped his arms around Isabel and began undoing the back of her dress, allowing it to fall forward and expose her breasts.

Rather than feeling shy about her nakedness, she allowed the sleeves to slip from her arms and the dress to slump to the floor. Sebastian took a sharp breath and scooped her up. He pressed his lips to each of her breasts and carried her to the bed.

“You are the most beautiful woman who ever lived,” he whispered as he placed her on the bed and began to unbutton his pants.

“I have waited hundreds of years for Victor to allow our union. No, we have waited hundreds of years. And now…you are finally my wife. My beloved wife. I will cherish you to the end of time.”

Sebastian joined her in the bed, straddling her and pressing his palms into the headboard.

“Our waiting has come to an end, my darling. We are finally free to express the full measure of our love.” He began to kiss her with such vigor and passion that her heart felt as if it would beat right out of her chest. And she kissed back with equal fervor, every inch of her body aching to touch and be touched by this man.