Freal Heart Novels & Stories

The rhythm of his strokes driving me into oblivion. My body was in an infinite submission to his saccharine assault, toes curling, back arching, fingers digging into his beastly back. We became a symphony of two bodies becoming one. His movement became jerky and we both went over the edge. He stilled inside me, whispering my name over and over. We were a tangled mess. There and then I realized Crest was a drug I couldn’t afford to quit ingesting. Later, when we curled up in bed, my head on his chest, his face was puzzled. I could hear his heart pounding.

The sound of a second heart beating inside my body. César leans forward. His mask cracks. He stands up and walks to the monitor, staring at the grainy black and white image. He stares at the tiny trace of grey in the center of the dark void. He reaches out. His hand grips my ankle. It isn't a caress. It is a grounding grip, possessive and heavy. "Strong," he murmurs, his eyes glued to the screen. "It sounds strong." "Very healthy," the doctor agrees. "Heart rate is 160. Perfect."

Scarlett echoed. "What does that mean?" Benji didn't like the sound of it. "Your brother has atrial fibrillation, which is when the top chambers of the heart beat out of synch with the lower chambers." Dr. Nakamura turned her notebook around and revealed a tablet. She tapped the screen and a heart diagram filled the screen. "AFib doesn't typically affect men Garth's age, and alone I don't think we'd have found ourselves here. From the readings I'm seeing and in talking with your brother, I think he experienced what's called takotsubo cardiomyopathy."

The vampire cardiologist, Aquilith, moved around the space with an economy of motion that was both efficient and hypnotic. “The echocardiogram results are conclusive, Doctor,” Aquilith said, her voice a low, cool murmur that seemed to vibrate directly in Liam’s bones. She tapped a long, pale finger on the lightboard where the images of a patient’s supernatural heart were displayed. “See the flutter in the left ventricle? It’s a classic sign of spectral fibrillation. Beta-blockers are useless. What she needs is a tuned frequency.”

The Architecture of the Heart "It’s a logistical nightmare," Rhys muttered, though a rare smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He was checking the "Compatibility-Grid" on his ledger. "We have a groom who breathes oxygen and a bride whose heart-core runs on pressurized thermal-vapor. If the atmospheric seal on her pressure-suit fails during the vows, she’ll freeze—and he’ll be scalded."

she pleads, eyes transforming into teary beads, compelling me to give in. “Sir Felix,” I correct her. “Haven’t you moved on from your teeny crush on him? You know he’s almost two decades older than us, right?” “What? He’s hot.” She shrugs. I roll my eyes and sigh a deep exhale, “And old. God, you’re ridiculous. I’m going back to sleep, good night.” When I covered my face with the blanket, she hops on my bed and shakes me aggressively. The fact that I’m short on sleep made it feel like I’m experiencing a magnitude ten earthquake. Not that I experienced one but she is shaking my brain tremendously.

I shrugged, trying to make him feel better. “No, you don’t understand. I don’t believe I even have a heart in my rib. I’ve never experienced my heartbeat my whole life.” He placed his hand on his chest. "See? No heart beat. Mom and other people confirmed it many years ago. I'm not just heartless as an adjective, but physical am.” I shook my head and chuckled. “That's not possible.” I placed my hand on his chest and the feeling of his heart beat was very soothing. “I can feel your heartbeat.” I lifted his hand and placed it on his chest to make him feel his heartbeat as well.

“Wow.” I felt tears sting my eyes. “It’s real,” I whispered, gripping Asher’s hand. Freya adjusted the probe, capturing different angles. “The heartbeat looks strong—about 170 beats per minute, which is normal for this stage. The baby’s measuring exactly on track, too.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “That’s good, right?” “It’s very good,” Freya confirmed. “Would you like to hear the heartbeat?” I nodded eagerly. A moment later, the room filled with the rapid whooshing sound of their baby’s heart. Asher wiped at his eyes, laughing softly.

" Diego, I can still revive him, I just need to find his heart" " Are you even listening to yourself? Are you a deity? How possible is that?" he was still holding Malia by the shoulders as she sat there on the floor, and I felt like burying him alive for taking my words for granted and acting like a faithless mogul. " If I can get his heart, I can reconnect the aorta, the veins, the arteries, and then override him with a heart shock, so please, where is the heart?" the look on his face told me I was asking the right question to the wrong person.

His breath hitched audibly, and then, ever so carefully, Rafael closed the space between us, pressing my trembling hand to his chest — right over his heart. It beat steady and strong beneath my fingertips. Alive. Real. Mine. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t broken beyond repair after all.