Page 92 of Grave Revelations (Prophecies of Angels and Demons #3)

Chapter 91

Gabriel

Gabriel spun around, sensing the creature’s return to her body. He raced to her side.

“Did you give her the message?” he asked. “Where is she?”

Sophia sat up, holding a hand up. “I need a second.”

He paced away from her, spinning to face her once more.

She grimaced, and all the hope building in his chest went flat. “She’s stuck there.”

Sophia nodded slowly. “Elizabeth moved on. She’s no longer in Sheol. But Rebecca is safe. Gabriel, I’m sorry. I have to go help my sisters.”

He waved a hand dismissively.

Rebecca was alive, yet not alive, but her soul existed. Some part of him knew it, though his death had severed their bond, just as hers had that first time. It hadn’t felt like her half of their soul was gone, merely wrenched apart.

He hadn’t expected to come back. With the magic in Primoria drained, he should have remained dead, and perhaps Azazel had. He hardly dared hope he’d been forgiven. But when he’d awoken on that cool sandy floor below Rebecca’s family home, his skin was warm and no longer burned with the dark swirling magic that marked him as a damned thing, and most important of all, his wings were pure white, all the hints of silver he’d accrued over the millennia wiped away .

It hadn’t mattered to him when Rebecca was gone. He’d reveled in the pain searing through every part of him as his body mended, even knowing it meant he still existed when she did not. Alone in that dark room, he contemplated all the ways he might end himself or suffer boundless torture trying. Then Sophia had arrived. The nasdaqu-ush he’d imagined flaying alive countless times since he found her in the caves of Demre, draining his mate’s life away.

But she’d brought hope. Hope that all was not lost. If Rebecca was in Sheol, perhaps she could find her way to Alaxia.

He paced the small space beneath the Graves mansion, rubbing his chin. It was unheard of. No seraph had ever been brought back into the fold after they’d fallen, but if it was his only chance to be with her, he had to know if it was true.

Gabriel dissolved into dust, reappeared outside her home, and launched into the sky, thinking of Alaxia.

He landed just outside the gates and let his wings stretch wide, reminding himself they were white once more. He crouched, preparing to launch himself over the gate when Raphael landed, blocking his path.

“Brother.” Raphael laid one hand on the sword sheathed at his side, his form lighting the surrounding ground. “Thou shalt not trespass here.”

“I’m restored. I am Gab… riel.” Some last vestige of fear was expelled as he exhaled the words. They were true.

Raphael’s eyebrows rose as he seemed to take in his brother’s transformation. “But… how?”

“I’ve been forgiven.” He tasted the truth of his words. Even after all he’d done, his Father had forgiven him.

A wide grin broke over Raphael’s face, his glow intensifying. He moved forward, clapping Gabriel on the shoulder. “Mary will be so pleased. And Di…” Her name died on his lips. He pulled Gabriel into a rough hug. “Come. Come through the gates and return home.”

The massive pearly gates, barring entrance to all who were unworthy, swung wide, and some piece of Gabriel’s soul lightened, knowing he’d been given a second chance.

This time, he vowed to himself to do what was right.