Page 132 of Grave Revelations

Sophia’s emerald eyes shone as she followed Rebeca’s gaze to her sister. “She betrayed us. She was cast out.”

Rebecca swallowed as a trickle of sorrow crept in for the fiery witch who had shared magic with her. It felt like a lifetime ago, but feeling anything meant letting in the pain; she shut it down before it could take hold and consume her.

“We should probably bring them to the river so they can move on,” she thought aloud as Simon approached. She gave him a wary look, waiting for another angry outburst from him.

“Bec, I’m sorry about earlier. I know you couldn’t have had anything to do with Zophiel’s scheme.” He searched her face. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

She tried to muster a smile, but lifting even the corner of her mouth was akin to lifting a mountain.

Simon’s brows dipped, and he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll help them. Rest.”

He looked at her like she was a broken thing, and her back stiffened. “No. This is my realm now. I need to do it.” She stepped forward and, raising her voice, said, “Souls, this is not your final resting place. Follow me.”

She turned, leaving the cave, and strode out into the light.

Chapter 88

Simon

Simon let the others pass, waiting until only Rhea and Yia-Yia remained, and held out his hands to each of them, pulling them up when they accepted. With Rhea on one arm and Yia-Yia on the other, he left the cave, shepherding the women toward the banks of the river.

His fingers flexed once, some of the nervous energy that always thrummed through him on Earth calming in this place. He’d never hated it here, but now, transformed as it was, a sort of serenity settled over him. He was hurt. Angry. But this place wrestled those bursts of emotion into something manageable. Somehow, he felt something here he’d never felt on Earth. Peace.

His gut twisted. He wanted it to be true when he said he believed Rebecca hadn’t known what Zophiel did to him, to make peace with his new truth and put all his negative feelings aside, but resentment simmered low in his belly. Zophiel’s command had altered his life more times than he could count, and none of them had been for the better.

Ahead, the crowd had halted, and Simon moved through them, straining to see why. Rebecca paused beside a massive stone sculpture. It was a dragon or some sort of sea creature snarling into the distance.

“What is it?” Rebecca asked the lion man who hadn’t stopped staring at her with adoration from the moment Simon first spied him.

He growled something Simon couldn’t understand, but then he said. “L-il-ith and L-ev-iath-an. Simon staggered closer, shocked to discover he could decipher more of the creature’s words.

Lilith was a Naphil. The first one in history, if he’d understood correctly, and the former ruler of Sheol.

“She killed her?” Rebecca’s hand went to her mouth, her eyes glistening.

“No,” the lion man said. “Changed… sea monster.”

“Is she still alive, Asher?”

The lion man—Asher—nodded. “Earth.”

Rebecca’s dark curls shook as a tear slid down her fair cheek. She wiped it away, remembering her audience, and steeled herself.

“I hope they’re together now.”

Asher’s grumbling voice began to reply, but she held up a hand. “Don’t tell me. I can’t handle any more tragic love stories.”

Something in Simon's chest cracked at her words and the absolute desolation in them.

Rebecca continued forward, leading the lost souls over a newly vibrant landscape.

Simon hung back, clinging to Yai-Yai and Rhea’s frail arms.

Rhea patted his sleeve, and he glanced down at her. “She’s lost. You’ll help her find her way. You always do.”

Simon smiled at the kindly woman who had been a part of his and Rebecca’s life nearly as long as they’d known each other. When she was born, only a few years after Sarah, he never could have imagined Thea’s only child would be in their lives for so long. It seemed she was destined to remain with them even after death.

The crowd had tripled as they went, picking up more souls along the way. Now, standing at the riverbank, his gaze traveled the expanse of lush foliage stretching far into the distance, and he sighed.

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