Famine's Homecoming is Available to Read for Free
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
October, Year 27 of the Horsemen
Ana da Silva
My eyes must be deceiving me.
I stand near the grill where Sara is cooking, my
back to her and Victor’s massive house. My eyes are glued to the far edge of
the property, where several riders are ambling in on horseback. My breath
catches when I first notice War.
They’ve come back.
I can feel hope blossoming in my chest, but I
don’t want to believe it—not right away. The world has been a mess for far too
long. It feels too impossible to believe that a few determined people might be
able to change that.
But then I notice a pair of people on horseback
who I don’t recognize. Could this be Lazarus and Death?
If they’re riding in here, next to War, and no one
is killing each other, then perhaps—
Fuck, we
might all actually be okay.
Next to me, Sara shouts something about pussies
and winning, but I don’t care because—
Famine.
He’s finally back.
My feet are moving, and then I’m sprinting towards
Famine, nearly tripping over my own feet in the process.
The Reaper swings a leg over his saddle, and then
he’s running towards me.
I crash into him, and he swings me in his arms, my
skirt swishing around us. I crush him to me, my arms wrapped tightly around his
neck, my face nestled against his. I breathe him in, letting his hair tickle my
face. I can hear him laughing, even as I fight back my tears.
“I missed
you.” I say it with more emotion than I intend. It’s been a long few months. A long few years,
actually, if I’m being honest.
“Not as much as I missed you, my flower,” he whispers
in my ear, smoothing a hand over my hair. “I’m still not sure I like humans,”
he admits. “They’re mostly annoying—though maybe that’s just my brothers.”
I laugh softly against him. “Be nice. They’re
family.”
“If you insist.” He turns his head and presses a
kiss to my cheek. “Let me see you,” he says, pulling away a little so that he
can take me in.
Our eyes meet, and I hear his ragged exhale.
“Fuck, I missed your face.”
I reach a hand up and cup his cheek, my thumb
stroking his skin. “You’re mortal.” It’s half a question, half a statement.
He hesitates, then gives me a sharp nod.
“I’m sorry.” I know it’s a good thing—it’s
something Famine himself wanted. But my horseman had told me long ago that it
was an uncomfortable, claustrophobic experience for him to exist as a human.
Before he had this form, he’d been this expansive thing that was connected to
the earth and the sky.
How much worse must it be for him now that his
vast powers are gone?
“Do not apologize to me, Ana,” he says. “I would
do it all again in an instant to have this with you.”
I swallow and try to accept that. My eyes dip to
the T-shirt and jeans he wears. It’s such a small detail, and yet he looks so
utterly different without his armor and black attire.
“Is your armor gone too?” I ask.
He gives a nod.
“And your scythe and scales?”
“It’s all fucking gone,” he says, reeling me back
into him. “It doesn’t matter. I get to live and die alongside you, and that’s
all I ever wanted.”
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Hugs and happy reading,
Laura
