Page 11 of Grave Revelations

Chapter 7

Rebecca

“We’re soulmates. Destined to be together until the end of time.”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “We’re not soulmates.”

Azazel pushed off the tree, crowding her. “Are you telling me you feel nothing when I’m near you?”

A thrill shot through her as she stepped back, giving them space. “Sure. I feel a lot of things. Loathing. Disgust.”

He grinned, lifting one of her dark curls and twisting it around his finger. “Lies.”

Damn angels and their abilities to sense dishonesty. But he wasn’t an angel anymore. Did they get to keep that skill forever?

“What are you now, if not a demon?”

“I’m a fallen seraph. If I accept my place beside my brother, I’ll become one of Primoria’s rulers.”

Rebecca let out a startled exhale. Co-rulers in Primoria. Was that possible? Could he lie now, as a fallen angel?

She ran her gaze over his broad chest, pausing on three slash marks. She reached for them, running a finger down the deepest one in the center. “What are these from?”

“Samael marked me. Claiming me as his general in the coming war.”

She dropped her finger, looking up. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve had visions. You know what comes next on this plane. The war to end all wars is near.”

“None of my visions have been about the end of the world. Are you saying the apocalypse is real and that you’ll fight with the devil when it comes?”

His dark wings twitched, shaking the low-hanging branches at his back. “No.”

Rebecca blew out a breath. None of what he said made sense. How could they be soulmates? She’d always believed if she had a soulmate, it would be Simon. Her heart stuttered at the reminder of him. But she shook the negative thoughts away, refusing to believe he was gone.

Her gaze dropped to Azazel’s feet, vision going unfocused. Every time she fought through the haze of memories from those moments before she lost consciousness, an image flashed in her mind: Simon’s arms wrapped around her as she carried them higher and higher. Their eyes had met, and his eyes had gone dull, the yellow in them flickering before they returned to the deep amber they’d been all those years ago.

It didn’t mean anything. He wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. All the while, this fallen creature claimed to be her soul’s other half.

She looked up, meeting Azazel’s dark, swirling eyes. “If we’re soulmates, why did you wait until Allie was dying to show yourself? Why wait until six years ago to find me? I’ve been alive for more than a century. Where have you been?”

Something like hurt suffused his features—an emotion she’d never seen on his face.

“Gabriel was selfless. He believed your human life didn’t belong to him, that it was yours to do with as you pleased. I am not Gabriel.”

Silence hung around them. Even the breeze stilled.

Rebecca bit her lip. “Are you saying we would have met in the afterlife? When I died?”

“Just because you haven’t seen me doesn’t mean I haven’t been here.”

“Another cryptic response. I don’t think that counts as an answer.”

His rumbling chuckle rolled over her, sending goosebumps down her spine. “You meant it when you said you weren’t going anywhere until I answered all your questions, didn’t you?”

She quirked an eyebrow, taking a step back when she realized how close he’d gotten. How had that happened?

The silence hung heavy between them. She’d never been comfortable with it, but two could play his game. He wasn’t the only one who could ignore a question.

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