Page 61 of Famine

“And hungry.”

More silence.

“And tired.”

“Deal with it, Ana.”

I purse my lips. “You’re really not going to stop?”

“No.”

“Such a dick,” I whisper under my breath.

It must be the early hours of the morning when my eyelids start to close. Then my head lowers. It knocks into my chest, startling me awake.

I thought it would’ve been impossible to get tired while sitting on a horse, but now I can’t seem to keep my eyes open. My chin bumps my chest a couple more times, jostling me awake again and again. Without thinking much about it, I twist a little in the saddle and lean my cheek against Famine’s chilly armor.

And then I drift off.

I feel myself falling when suddenly, Famine catches me, jolting me awake.

“Stay on the horse,” he orders me. He sounds painfully alert, the jerk.

“You stay on the horse,” I mutter, my eyes already closing.

Famine mutters something about no-good humans, but I’m already slipping back into sleep.

I wake again when I fall against the Reaper’s arm.

“Are you trying to hurt yourself?” he demands, and I notice now what I didn’t before—he sounds angry, indignant.

“I’m trying tosleep. This would all be easier with a bed.”

“I’m not stopping,” he says obstinately.

“Trust me, I’m aware of that.”

I resettle, nestling my face close to the crook of his neck. It’s an awkward angle and it puts me closer to the horseman than I care to be, but it’s one of the more comfortable positions.

“What are you doing?” Famine demands. Now he definitely sounds perturbed.

“Sleeping,” I say, my eyes already closing.

I can sense his deep, disapproving frown, but I’m hours and hours beyond caring. Gradually, I feel him relax against me.

I think my body slides a couple more times, but eventually the Reaper’s solid arm comes around me, holding me to him. And then I drift off, and I don’t wake.

When I open my eyes, I’m lying in a bed.

Where the hell am I … ?

I push myself up and glance around, trying to get my bearings.

All at once, the previous evening comes back to me. Riding on Famine’s horse, falling asleep over and over again only to be jostled awake. But at some point I fell asleep and stayed asleep.

And by the looks of it, we must’ve arrived at wherever we were supposed to during that time.

Just as I’m taking in the room, which has a couple cowboy hats hanging on the wall and a bull’s skull mounted above the bed, I hear the sure stride of a familiar set of feet. A moment later Famine enters.

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