Page 73 of Grave Revelations

Jophiel nodded, disappearing in a blink.

Rebecca trudged up the stairs, pushed the door open, and moved down the hall. She glanced into Simon’s old room. It was dusty and bare—devoid of any personal touches. It was a prison she had made for him, knowingly or not.

She stepped through the front door into a dark gray day. Clouds hung heavy, ready to spill more snow on the ground. The chill cut through her coat, and she wrapped it tightly around herself.

Azazel moved beside her, blocking the wind. He looked over her head at Jophiel, who hovered just off the ground.

“Do you smell it?” Azazel asked.

The angel nodded. “Tainted magic.”

Rebecca sniffed the air. She didn’t smell any magic. Not that she ever had. Would she gain that ability if she unlocked her seraph side?

Azazel tipped his gaze to hers. “It's possible, though you never had the ability when you were Adalaide.”

“Adalaide unlocked her seraphim side?” Rebecca asked.

“Yes. It was required for the…sacrifice.”

Rebecca stuffed her hands into her pockets.Sacrifice.The word seemed to follow her wherever she went. She couldn’t escape it, even in some life she’d supposedly lived before. One she had no memory of.

Azazel leaned into her.You will not sacrifice yourself again. They aren’t worth it.

She swallowed, looking up at piercing blue eyes burning with some silent plea, and her heart stuttered. What would it be like to lose the other half of your soul?

It nearly ended me.

She stepped back, creating space between them. She didn’t want to know how he felt about it. Didn’t want to hear his thoughts. After all, they only confused her. Every thought—every word—was a promise, yet he insisted they couldn’t be together.

Selfish.

The word slid through her mind, making her glance up at him again. She wanted to tell him it wasn’t true. He wasn’t selfish for wanting something he couldn’t have. He wasn’t selfish at all.

“What were they? The creatures in the house?”

Jophiel’s question pulled Rebecca from her thoughts. She inhaled sharply and broke eye contact, looking away. Her gaze trailed the horizon, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose as Azazel’s stare heated her skin.

She glanced back at the hands fisted at his sides, knuckles straining against dark swirling skin, and her gaze trailed up rigid arms and over his broad chest before finally meeting his stare again. Startlingly blue eyes burned into her, and a thrill shot up her spine, warming the ember pulsing in her chest.

“I’ll leave you,” Jophiel said, startling Rebecca from her trance.

“No,” she said, clearing her throat. “There’s magic… in the air… and...” Rebecca’s halting words tripped over her too-thick tongue. She backed up, putting more space between herself and Azazel.

Azazel’s scorching gaze broke from hers as he darted a look at Jophiel. “It's something new. Something I haven’t encountered before. The necromancer has been experimenting.”

Rebecca’s disjointed thoughts struggled to catch up with the conversation. There had been creatures in her house—during theday. And Azazel got rid of them, likely killed them. But where were the bodies?

“They rot in Primoria now.”

Right. Prince of Hell. “But if they were Elizabeth’s creatures, they may not have been here by choice. What if they were good people before she killed them?”

“Their souls fled long ago.”

“I think we should go back inside,” Jophiel said. “The sooner we awaken Rebecca’s seraph side, the safer she will be from whatever plan Elizabeth has for her.”

Azazel nodded and held out a hand for Rebecca. “Come.”

She looked down at his large hand, her throat going dry. Nodding, she slid her fingers between his, and her chest pulsed in response to his touch.

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