Page 84 of Grave Revelations

Her words were a bitter reminder that nothing would ever be fine again.

Chapter 53

Rebecca

Rebecca blew a dark curl from her face as she lifted both hands high overhead.

Perfect,Azazel said in her mind.Now, focus on the way the air is of the world and not encapsulating it. You must understand how things are connected. Otherwise, you’re fighting against the elements instead of bending with them.

She focused all her attention on the bubble she’d created overhead.Okay, focus, Rebecca,she reminded herself.It’s part of the air overhead.

The bubble expanded a fraction, stretching the limits of its confinement.

It’s not confined,Azazel reminded her.

Right. She took a deep, steadying breath, trying to see the world the way he did—to envision the air bending with nature, moving through it. Her bubble lost its shape and expanded.

It stretched, draping itself over the treetops, covering them like a blanket. The world outside went silent.

“I did it!” she squealed.

“Now focus on the things you want to let in.”

She bit her lip.

A bird landed on a tree branch just outside her bubble. She imagined the bird was part of their sphere, and when it lifted from the branches, she gasped as it flew through her shield to perch on a protected branch.

Rebecca beamed at Azazel, who stepped closer. “Now for the true test. Let’s see if you can keep it up while you’re distracted.”

She swallowed as he lifted a hand, trailing soft fingers over her cheek.

A shudder rolled through her, but she tried to ignore the heat radiating from her chest as the strange bond they shared flared to life, reaching for him.

Good,he purred inside her mind.

His fingers trailed down her neck, tracing the line of her collarbone.

The bubble shimmered, and she closed her eyes, trying to drown out the feel of his fingers dancing along her skin.

Very good.

The deep rumble of his voice and his praise brushed over the invisible ember in her chest, now full to bursting with a soul she never knew was missing.

The sounds of the world around them crashed in as her bubble burst.

“That wasn’t fair,” she said, batting his hand away and stepping back. That tug at her center, always urging her toward him, protested the movement, but she refused to give in to it. She wanted answers, and that meant she had to stay focused.

“Your efforts deserve an answer,” Azazel conceded. “Ask.”

Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest. “How has my soul been in so many people? How did I share it?”

“The same way a part of my soul resides in you,” Azazel began. “A human body is merely a vessel. It carries the soul through existence until the vessel is no longer capable of life. But a soul is boundless—eternal—and transcends time and space.

“Our Father made souls to live with Him forever, but we are not like Him. We need a form. He made seraphim first, His imperfect creatures, and bound us eternally to these forms. But when He made humans, He found a better way.

“They were bound upon creation but could leave those forms behind when they were ready.

“They were His perfect creatures. But humans and seraphim were not always so separate. When Samael, Father’s favored, met the humans, he was jealous. He sought to prove to Father that they were imperfect, as the seraphim are.

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