Page 107 of Grave Revelations (Prophecies of Angels and Demons #3)

Chapter 106

Sophia

Sophia pressed her fingers to her lips to hold in another gasp as General Vaughn panned over what was left of Athens. All that remained of their former home was a thin ridge of land bisecting a roiling, murky ocean.

He zoomed in, using satellite imagery to show an object skimming the water.

“What is that?” she asked.

General Vaughn darted a look at Angeliki, raising a brow.

Angeliki nodded, and he pressed a button, bringing a grainy image into focus. “Something big.”

Sophia stepped closer. A giant beast, nearly the length of the range of mountains still above sea level in Greece, dipped below the dark water only to breach the surface, leaping into the air. It twisted in a beautiful arc, splashing down and disappearing below the sea again.

“The Loch Ness,” a soldier said in awe. “Back home, we had legends about it.”

Vassi and Thalia squeezed in alongside her, and Thalia grabbed Sophia’s hand, squealing.

“Leviathan!” She said, hopping up and down, facing her circle of witches. “Pythia, remember? I read you the story.” She looked at Sophia and then the others for recognition on their faces. “The great sea beast.” She raised a brow. “It’s the greatest love story in history. ”

Something tugged at Sophia’s memory: a sculpture in Sheol shaped like a sea dragon. Asher had said the words “Leviathan” and “Lilith.” She hadn’t understood the lion-man, though. Remembering that day sent a pang of longing through her for her sister.

“I wish Rebecca were here,” she said, squeezing Vassi’s hand.

A bright light burst through the room, and everyone stumbled backward as two ethereal beings appeared in the massive underground bunker.

The soldiers—apart from General Vaughn, who had suspiciously darted up from his seat to shield her mother—fell back or reached for weapons.

Sophia dropped Vassi’s hand, rushing forward, and slung her arms around her sister.

Rebecca wrapped Sophia in a hug and squeezed. “Sophia!”

Sophia released her, wiping the wetness pooling along her lashes. “You’re… an angel.”

Gabriel stepped forward, putting a hand on Rebecca’s back. Standing together, they glowed, illuminating the room, the most perfect pair Sophia had ever seen.

“We were searching for you,” Rebecca said. “Something’s happening. Come see.”

Sophia started forward, but Angeliki grabbed her hand. “Pythia, it’s not safe outside.”

Rebecca answered in their language. “The Fallen have been defeated. The end is truly here, and it's time you were reunited with your loved ones.”

Several people who’d been inching closer upon the arrival of two ethereal beings stepped forward now, curious and a little hopeful.

Rebecca laced her fingers in Gabriel's and they turned, striding away from the group. Their matching wings were magnificent, stretching high overhead and swishing across the floor as they walked. Twin halos wreathed their heads and ran along their forms, casting them in an iridescent light.

Gabriel lifted a hand, and the massive underground door that had sealed the bunker swung wide.

They stepped out into the soft glow of the morning sun .

Sophia stretched her palm out, feeling heat radiate across her skin. When the sun rises, and you remain on the mortal plane. The words ran through her mind as she closed her eyes, basking in its warmth.

It was finally over.

Some of the humans were mumbling and crying, and a few had fallen to their knees. Sophia turned, gazing up the mountain to a gleaming castle resting high above. She stepped back, getting a better view of the object that consumed the sky, stretching up into the heavens.

Rebecca came to stand beside Sophia and looked down at her friend. She shrank, becoming the size of a human, and bumped Sophia’s shoulder. “It’s Heaven on Earth.”

Sophia laughed. “And you. This is your Nephilim form?”

Rebecca’s cheeks flushed bright pink. “Well,” she tucked a raven curl behind her ear, “when Dina’s immortality was cut short, it left an opening for a new seraph.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I was the Naphil with the most power, thanks to Gabriel, so I got the job.”

A laugh burst from Sophia. “Are you an archangel? Can I call you Archangel Rebecca?”

“Actually… They do this thing where you get a new name.”

Sophia bit her lip to hold in her grin, trying to imagine what Rebecca’s new name would be.

“I’m Leah.”

“Leah.” Sophia tried out the name.

“It’s the last letter of all my previous names. To remind me that we all matter regardless of who came first.”

Gabriel appeared beside them, smiling fondly at his soulmate. Sophia couldn’t remember ever seeing a smile on his face, but it suited him. He was almost handsome when he smiled. Almost.

The angel who had transported them to Alaska landed. “It’s time, brother.”

Gabriel searched Leah’s face. She nodded, and he lifted into the sky, flapping massive wings that glinted silver against the sunlight.

“What was that about?” Sophia asked, watching him disappear .

“The souls are coming.”

Sophia gave her friend a quizzical look, but Leah didn’t notice as she stared after her soulmate disappearing into the distance.

Sophia craned her head up, mouth falling open as Gabriel and several other angels swept across the sky in an arch, and behind them, a glittering rainbow followed. It curved and bent until they landed, bringing it with them.

Angeliki came to stand next to Sophia, looping her arm through her daughter’s. Together, they watched as shapes appeared far above, moving toward them until Sophia could finally make out faces.

“Pythia!” someone called, and she released her mother, racing forward and catching Nita in her arms, swinging her around in a circle.

“You’re here!”

More arms came around them, and soon, Phoebe and Iris, Maria, and Vassi wrapped themselves in a tight embrace. A beautiful woman with hazel eyes rushed into their group, throwing her arms wide.

“Yai-Yai?” Angeliki’s voice was breathless as she untangled herself from her group and wrapped her mother in her arms. “Yai-Yai!” Tears streamed down her face as she squeezed her now much younger mother, and soon, the other witches tugged them back into their circle.

All around them, Sophia saw humans connecting as they met in bone-crushing hugs.

More and more arrived until it seemed there wasn’t space to stand, but many looked confused or lost, as though this Earth was unfamiliar to them. Sophia knew these souls would need a hand to guide them.

She glanced out over the crowd, spying angels dotting the landscape, and saw Rebecca—Leah—hugging a woman with cinnamon hair cut in a bob. Another woman with straight dark hair and blue eyes stopped beside them. Two men who must have been twins crashed into her, knocking her backward as they hugged her fiercely.

Gabriel landed beside them and threw his arms around Leah and the two men, and Sophia could have sworn they looked a little like him .

General Vaughn cleared his throat, and Sophia and several of her coven members turned to face him.

“Excuse me,” he said, his cheeks flushing pink. “I wonder if I could speak with Angelica.”

Sophia smiled at his mispronunciation of her mother’s name, and her smile stretched wide as several of her sisters gave him disapproving scowls. Only a brave man could approach their fearsome group, and it was exactly what her mother needed in a partner.

Angeliki stepped back from the group, going to stand beside him. He whispered in her ear, and her eyes widened.

Sophia heard, but she let them have their moment. Soon enough, this joyous reunion would be over, and the work would begin.

THE END