Page 154 of Grave Revelations

Twin bolts of lightning shot through the haze, and another of his brothers screamed. The smell of burned flesh and feathers hung heavy in the air.

“Azrael! Why are you doing this?” Gabriel shouted.

In the silence that followed, Raphael appeared beside him. With his golden lasso held at the ready, he moved to put Gabriel at his back. They would be stronger that way; it was a fighting tactic Raphael had learned all those centuries ago when he and Michael had successfully defeated the Fallen.

Could they defeat the singular ruler of such a mighty realm, more powerful now than it had been all those millennia ago when far fewer souls fueled it?

But many of the realm’s creatures were already dead.

Gabriel glanced at the edges of Raphael’s singed wings. They were four against one with Camael down until he recovered; they were already losing badly. Only one thing could truly stop Azrael: the destruction of his throne.

“I have to go down,” Gabriel called over his shoulder. “We can’t beat him unless we destroy the throne.”

“What if you’re transformed once more? Banished from Alaxia? From your mate?” Raphael yelled back.

Gabriel’s chest seized. Rebecca was in Alaxia, with no mortal form to return to. Raphael was right to worry, but Azrael was strong, and his primary gift—water—was even more powerful now that Earth and Primoria had merged.

“What other option do we have?” Gabriel asked.

Lightning lit the sky, and Phanuel bellowed in the distance.

“I’m going down,” Gabriel said, leaving no room for argument. “Hold him off as long as you can.”

Gabriel dropped from the sky, swooping low over cracked and broken earth. The heavy, oppressive fog trailing Azrael sunk lower, his only sign before lightning sizzled overhead, narrowly missing his wing.

Azrael knew where Gabriel was headed, and he was coming for him.

Chapter 104

Sophia

Sophia opened her eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the dark cave, a stark contrast to the bright landscape she’d just left.

Beside her, Vassi and Helena both stirred, opening their eyes. She sat up, looking at Maria. Her face was relaxed, peaceful. Sophia touched her cheek, already cooling, as whatever magic kept the body in stasis while they were gone fell away.

Thalia and Angeliki stepped into the cave, and Angeliki dropped to her knees beside Maria.

“She’s not coming back?” Angeliki asked, laying a hand over her heart.

“No,” Sophia whispered. “She moved on.”

Angeliki’s cheeks dimpled as she smiled at the girl. “She deserves to rest.”

Sophia climbed to her feet, dusting off her pants. “Where have you buried the others? We should give her a proper burial.”

Thalia and Angeliki exchanged glances before they stood.

Thalia said, “We waited for you to return, but the camp has moved. We weren’t expecting to bury anyone here.”

Sophia faced them both. “What’s happened?”

Angeliki took Sophia and Vassi’s hands, and Vassi grabbed Helena’s, leading them out of the cave. They halted abruptly, hovering at the edge of a massive pit in the ground.

Sophia gasped. “Was anyone hurt? Killed?”

“No, Pythia. Zadkiel and several other angels came. They brought the rest of our coven and the humans down to Colorado. It’s no longer safe to be so close to the ocean.”

“Why?” Vassi asked, gaze drifting to Thalia.

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