Page 149 of Grave Revelations

Gabriel followed him, breaking into a run. The humming became chanting, singing from the rafters, reaching some great crescendo, and then he was at the gates, and they were swinging wide.

Souls filtered through, carried into the fields by an invisible current. He dodged them, moving erratically, sweeping between small blue wisps.

Rebecca was there, running, sprinting toward him, and his arms came around her, lifting and spinning her in the air. Gabriel inhaled, and it was apples and chocolate andher. He folded her into his tight embrace, burying his nose in her hair, reveling in every place their skin met.

She wrapped her arms around him, twisting in his grasp until she nuzzled his ear and ran her nose along his lobe.

“I missed you,” she said.

My light in the infinite darkness. I was bereft without you.

She exhaled a long sigh against his neck. He loosened his hold after what felt like an eternity—which was all too soon.

“How?” Gabriel asked.

She slid down in his arms, feet touching Alaxian ground. “Simon stayed so I could go.”

The name should have irked him, annoyed him at the very least, but in this moment, he had only gratitude. For once in the creature’s life, he had done the right thing.

A tear formed along Rebecca’s lashes as she said, “I remember. I remember everything. Did Sophia tell you?”

Gabriel nodded, running his fingers through her curls.

“John and Henry?”

“They’re here, Light. Resting with the other souls.”

She whimpered softly against his cheek. “I can’t wait to see them.”

He leaned back, taking her in, committing every tiny freckle to memory. “The war is not won yet,” he explained. “Mahazael and Azrael have not relinquished their thrones in Primoria. It's not over until they do. Or until they are ended.”

Rebecca nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I brought you something that might help.” She reached into the pocket of her long white robe, producing an ancient lance made of bone.

Light, you’re brilliant.He took it, sliding it into an illusory sheath at his side. “Stay here. We will stop them. Then I’ll return, and we’ll have forever.

He released her hand, moving toward the gates.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

Their eyes met, hers shining with unspoken sorrow, and he rushed back to her, scoping her up in his arms.

“They don’t need me,” he said. “My place is here. With you.”

Gabriel pressed his lips to hers, sucking her bottom lip between his teeth. The warm taste of dark chocolate and tangy apples dripped on his tongue, and he tightened his hold on her.

She moaned into his mouth, lips moving on his as she clutched him in a desperate embrace. Images of her first life flashed through her mind. All the times he’d left her, racing to join some cause, and the desolation he left in his wake.

I’m so sorry, Light. For everything.

Their lips parted, and he tipped his forehead to hers.

Tears ran down her face, and he released her, wiping them away. “Come, I’ll show you our room.”

He wrapped his hand around hers and tugged her forward. She halted, and he stopped, turning to face her.

What’s wrong?

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