In the distance, I hear my steed snort, then the dull pound of his hooves galloping towards me.
Off in the opposite direction are another set of pounding hoof beats. I drag my gaze away from the sky.
There, charging up the road is a dappled grey steed. His empty saddle is made of black leather and limned in silver, chthonic images styled across the seat.
Death’s fabled horse.
At last, Thanatos has found me.
Chapter 53
Ana
I sit in a cage made of plants, seething. There are sticks in my hair, leaves down my shirt, and stalks up my skirt.
The plants around me are no longer manhandling my ass, and they are no longer wrapped around my limbs, but the thick, barbed bush that encapsulates me is obviously meant to be a cage.
After a minute, I stand up and brush myself off, my head skimming the branches that arch overhead.
Will this plant release me if I put up a fight?
I give it a test kick, just to see. When it doesn’t fight back—also, yay for living in a time when plants fight back—I begin to push my way through the foliage, elbowing back branches and ignoring the nicks and scrapes I get from the thorns.
It takes me several minutes, but I get out of that stupid cage Famine wrought.
Oh man, am I going to rip him a new asshole.
I begin stalking back the way I came when I hear a loud, thumping noise overhead.
Whomp—whomp—whomp.
I glance up at the object descending from the sky. At first glance, it looks like an enormous black bird, but after several seconds, I realize it’s a winged man.
The dark angel lowers himself to the earth, his massive black wings beating behind him, causing his dark hair to ripple. I catch a glimpse of glowing glyphs crawling up his neck, but it’s his beautiful, solemn face that snags my gaze.
His feet touch the ground, and his dark wings fold up behind him. He doesn’t carry a sword or a scythe or any other weapon, but I feel as though I can’t draw in enough breath.
The hairs across my arms stand on end; I don’t believe I’ve ever encountered a being that seems as lethal as this one does—Famine included.
He strides forward, silver armor gleaming, his gaze trained on me.
Around him, the underbrush withers away, their leaves curling up and their stalks turning brittle.
It’s the same sick power that Famine has.
Only this isn’t Famine.
There’s only one creature in existence who this could be.
“Death,” I whisper.
And he’s coming for me.
Famine
I realize my mistake the moment my brother’s feet touch the earth. I sense him, not near me, but near her.
Ana.
Scythe in hand, I’m suddenly sprinting, cutting across thick vegetation, the bushes and trees bending out of my way. I run like my very life depends on it.
But it’s not my life I’m worried about.
It takes less than a minute for me to arrive where I so recently left Ana.
Death stands among withered vines and shrubs, facing me off, his wings folded at his back. Kneeling in front of him—
“Famine!” Ana chokes out. She lunges forward at the sight of me, but Thanatos catches her by the shoulder, jerking her back in place.
The sight of him manhandling her has me rolling the scythe in my hand. I storm forward.
“Don’t come any closer, brother,” Death says calmly, his fingers tightening their grip on Ana’s shoulder.
I jerk to a halt, my eyes focused on where he holds her in place.
Thanatos moves his hand to stroke Ana’s face, his fingers trailing over her cheekbone. Beneath his touch, she pinches her eyes, grimacing.
He could take her from me in an instant, and I would be powerless to stop it. I am powerless. The thought stirs up violent thoughts. But just beneath that is another, sickening emotion—dread. Deep, existential dread for Ana.
I can barely breathe around the thought of her dying.
Ana exhales and opens her eyes again, her gaze finding mine. She looks oddly calm, but her breath is leaving her in ragged gasps, like she’s only barely controlling her fear.
“Dear brother,” Thanatos says, “I was hoping our reunion would go a bit differently.”
I clench my jaw, my focus moving to him.
“Why are you here?”
“You know why I am here,” Death says. After a moment that stretches out, he adds, “We were made to end these creatures, not to give in to them.”
His fingers continue to pet Ana’s cheek. Her body is shaking, and a single, frightened tear escapes from her eyes.
I grip my scythe tighter. At the sight of her fear, that old hunger rises in me—the one that needs to suck the marrow from the earth. Overhead, clouds stir and churn.
Death tilts his head, his expression placid. “You surprised me, you know. The others, I was expecting to fail to some degree. War, after all, is made from men’s wicked desires, and Pestilence—well, he has an unnatural curiosity for humans as well. It came as no great shock that that they were felled by these women of fire and clay.
“But you, dear brother, the great Famine himself, who has killed millions of humans without pause or remorse. I thought that surely you wouldn’t be so easily swayed.”
Thanatos glances down at Ana, and I have to physically hold myself back from intervening.
“I cannot fathom what it is about them that draws you in,” he says, sounding oddly intrigued. “I suppose it is in your nature to hunger for things—even things you shouldn’t.”
He’s still stroking Ana’s face.
“Brother,” I warn. I can feel myself beginning to tremble. I’m losing my patience and my control.
But Thanatos has a fire in his eyes. “You and I, Famine, we blink our eyes and civilizations have risen and collapsed. The centuries fall away like petals of a flower. You are the bearer of the divine scales; you know the price of all things. Surely it must be obvious that a single, insignificant life isn’t a worthy trade for your immortality.”
Finally, we arrive at the reason for this reunion. It must shake even unflinching Death that three of his brothers would choose mortality over duty.
“I am the bearer of the scales, and I do understand the worth of all things,” I say. “It is for me to decide what a worthy trade is. And I have decided.”
Death studies me for a long time. After a minute, he takes Ana by the chin and tilts her face up to him, studying her features. She meets my brother’s dark gaze, another tear slipping from her eyes.
The gathering clouds above betray my emotions. I feel a drop hit my cheek, then another splash against my temple.
“She has a pleasing enough form,” Death admits, “and her spirit is resilient and forgiving, but she will die soon enough. It is the way of these creatures. Even I cannot keep her here forever.”
She will die soon enough?
She won’t if I am by her side.
“I don’t care, brother,” I say resolutely. “I have made my choice.”
Thanatos sighs, moving his hand back to Ana’s cheek, those maddening fingers stroking her skin once more.
“I will relieve you of your scales and your scythe,” he says, his voice full of mocking disbelief.
Still, I nearly stagger.