Page 125 of Grave Revelations

Sophia grimaced. Had Sanura set herself up as ruler of this place? Or had the magic used to banish her somehow given her that ability?

Sanura pulled Sophia up the rocky side of a hill to a pile of boulders roughly stacked to form a chair. She sat, yanking Sophia closer, and held her arm up as she ran her tongue over Sophia’s skin, lapping up the blood.

Sophia struggled in her iron grip, but Sanura was stronger than anything she’d ever imagined.

The rocks and pebbles under her feet shook as the ground trembled, and Sanura’s makeshift throne thrummed with energy. Sanura’s eyes lit up, and a soft blue haze formed around her. Ruby lips stretched wide as she bared her teeth, a look of pure elation coming over her face.

When the ground settled, and Sanura’s skin had returned to its natural pallor, she stood, dragging Sophia with her.

“There, I needed a charge. Now let's go find your bestie.”

Chapter 82

Rebecca

Adalaide’s eyes misted, and she wiped the corners, sniffling. “He always said a darkness lived in him. I believed nothing like this could happen, though.” She cleared her throat. “Did you tell him he was worthy? Did you tell him you loved him anyway, despite what he became? He would have needed that reassurance.”

Rebecca swallowed. “I…”

Adalaide’s gaze snapped to her. “Did you attempt to comfort him in any way?”

“I told him I loved him. At the end.”

The other woman crossed her arms over her ruffled shirt. “You are his soulmate. Only you can bring him any amount of peace. Did you give him nothing before… before?” A tear formed along her lashes as she broke off.

“I see you’ve found one another,” a voice said.

Rebecca whipped around, letting out a small gasp.

Sanura stepped forward, pulling Sophia with her. Sophia looked between the two girls, then down at her arm, a line of blood trailing to her fingertips and spilling onto gray, compact earth.

“I killed you!”

Sanura’s ruby lips tipped up. “Ah, but I divided my soul, just as I did with yours, and left it where it would be safe. You cannot kill a soul who is divided betweenrealms. Even with the lance, we exist when our mortal forms are gone. I prepared for all outcomes.”

Rebecca glanced at Adalaide. Some part of her had hoped that somehow, Azazel had been wrong, that she wasn’t just a copy of someone else, but looking at the woman across from her with so many similarities but her own set of life experiences, she finally understood. Their soul lived in all of them; each had been her own person in her own lifetime.

Her shoulders drooped and she looked back to Sanura. The woman was beautiful, even with the cruel twist to her lips. What had happened to make her so bent on all this destruction? Perhaps the answer was that she was simply the mate of the devil, but Rebecca's soulmate was a prince of Primoria and she wasn't evil.

"Why?" She wrapped her arms around herself. "Why did you do all this?"

Sanura's lips curled up, but her eyes held a darkness that sent a shiver through Rebecca. Her gaze darted between the two women seeming to decide whether they deserved her truth.

"I trusted someone once. My family." Her grip tightened on Sophia's arm and Sophia inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. "But they betrayed me. And even when all I wanted was a life with my analogous umbra, they didn't let me have that bit of happiness."

"You killed everyone in my line," Adalaine demanded. "You tried to kill me."

Sanura's gaze sharpened on Adalaide. "You were no different from the rest of your pathetic Gavras line. You all thought your line was superior to the rest of us. You would have used the necklace to end me for good."

"I did nothing to you until you came for my family."

Sanura's nails dug into Sophia's arm and her eyes went wild. "What do you know of family?! Yours killed my son. Ripped my precious child from the world before he ever drew breath. They deserved it. You all did!" She lunged forward.

Rebecca lifted her hands, wreathing them in fire. A trickle of blue flame glowed to life, and she frowned. Hadn’t Jophiel told her Nephilim could use their magic here? Hadn’t she said only they were strong enough?

Sanura drew up short but laughed. It was manic and full of disdain. “You hold no power in my realm, halfling.”

Rebecca gritted her teeth together, pulling at the ember in her chest. Her fire leaped higher, but it was nothing compared to the gifts she wielded on the mortal plane.

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