Page 157 of Grave Revelations

Sophia pressed her fingers to her lips to hold in another gasp as General Vaughn panned over what was left of Athens. All that remained of their former home was a thin ridge of land bisecting a roiling, murky ocean.

He zoomed in, using satellite imagery to show an object skimming the water.

“What is that?” she asked.

General Vaughn darted a look at Angeliki, raising a brow.

Angeliki nodded, and he pressed a button, bringing a grainy image into focus. “Something big.”

Sophia stepped closer. A giant beast, nearly the length of the range of mountains still above sea level in Greece, dipped below the dark water only to breach the surface, leaping into the air. It twisted in a beautiful arc, splashing down and disappearing below the sea again.

“The Loch Ness,” a soldier said in awe. “Back home, we had legends about it.”

Vassi and Thalia squeezed in alongside her, and Thalia grabbed Sophia’s hand, squealing.

“Leviathan!” She said, hopping up and down, facing her circle of witches. “Pythia, remember? I read you the story.” She looked at Sophia and then the others for recognition on their faces. “The great sea beast.” She raised a brow. “It’s the greatest love story in history.”

Something tugged at Sophia’s memory: a sculpture in Sheol shaped like a sea dragon. Asher had said the words “Leviathan” and “Lilith.” She hadn’t understood the lion-man, though. Remembering that day sent a pang of longing through her for her sister.

“I wish Rebecca were here,” she said, squeezing Vassi’s hand.

A bright light burst through the room, and everyone stumbled backward as two ethereal beings appeared in the massive underground bunker.

The soldiers—apart from General Vaughn, who had suspiciously darted up from his seat to shield her mother—fell back or reached for weapons.

Sophia dropped Vassi’s hand, rushing forward, and slung her arms around her sister.

Rebecca wrapped Sophia in a hug and squeezed. “Sophia!”

Sophia released her, wiping the wetness pooling along her lashes. “You’re… an angel.”

Gabriel stepped forward, putting a hand on Rebecca’s back. Standing together, they glowed, illuminating the room, the most perfect pair Sophia had ever seen.

“We were searching for you,” Rebecca said. “Something’s happening. Come see.”

Sophia started forward, but Angeliki grabbed her hand. “Pythia, it’s not safe outside.”

Rebecca answered in their language. “The Fallen have been defeated. The end is truly here, and it's time you were reunited with your loved ones.”

Several people who’d been inching closer upon the arrival of two ethereal beings stepped forward now, curious and a little hopeful.

Rebecca laced her fingers in Gabriel's and they turned, striding away from the group. Their matching wings were magnificent, stretching high overhead and swishing across the floor as they walked. Twin halos wreathed their heads and ran along their forms, casting them in an iridescent light.

Gabriel lifted a hand, and the massive underground door that had sealed the bunker swung wide.

They stepped out into the soft glow of the morning sun.

Sophia stretched her palm out, feeling heat radiate across her skin.When the sun rises, and you remain on the mortal plane.The words ran through her mind as she closed her eyes, basking in its warmth.

It was finally over.

Some of the humans were mumbling and crying, and a few had fallen to their knees. Sophia turned, gazing up the mountain to a gleaming castle resting high above. She stepped back, getting a better view of the object that consumed the sky, stretching up into the heavens.

Rebecca came to stand beside Sophia and looked down at her friend. She shrank, becoming the size of a human, and bumped Sophia’s shoulder. “It’s Heaven on Earth.”

Sophia laughed. “And you. This is your Nephilim form?”

Rebecca’s cheeks flushed bright pink. “Well,” she tucked a raven curl behind her ear, “when Dina’s immortality was cut short, it left an opening for a new seraph.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I was the Naphil with the most power, thanks to Gabriel, so I got the job.”

---