The
Heartbeat Thief
by AJ Krafton
Date of
Publication: June 2015
Publisher:
Red Fist Fiction
Cover
Artist: Red Fist Fiction
Genre:
New Adult Historical Fantasy
BLURB
Haunted by a crushing fear of death, a
young Victorian woman discovers the secret of eternal youth—she must surrender
her life to attain it, and steal heartbeats to keep it.
In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has only
one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and lacks
neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn’t be difficult, not
when she has her entire life before her. But it’s not life that preoccupies her
thoughts. It’s death—and that shadowy spectre haunts her every step.
So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly
attractive, obviously eligible—he’d be her perfect match if only he wasn’t so
macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about knowing how to avoid
it…
When her mother arranges a courtship
with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted
destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell that
frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death—but at a steep
price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the heartbeats of
others.
It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allan
Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and
beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the back alleys of
Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time…
How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid
Death?
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“Miss Fyne.” A
gentleman’s voice claimed their attention and the girls curtseyed. Senza was
acquainted with Mr. Thomas, the son of the London barrister who did frequent
business with her father. “I had wondered if you would be attending. Shall I
have the honor of dancing with you?”
Senza gave him a
perfunctory smile as she remembered their interactions from previous dances. Thomas
tended to smile extra hard when he looked at her, and he emanated heat like a
fireplace. But he was polite, and considerate of her comfort, and didn’t press
conversation. Overall, dancing with Mr. Thomas was not a terrible thing, as he
had a certain deftness of foot that survived most exercises. Thankfully, the
quadrille involved more stepping than skipping. “Mr. Thomas. You may.”
He flashed a smile
that looked borne in relief. “I’ll await you in the ballroom. Miss Fyne. Miss
Keating.”
With a belated nod to
Felicity, he hurried away, face beaming with conquest, presumably to await the
arrival of his prize.
“That poor man.”
Felicity clucked her tongue. “He just doesn’t understand, does he? He scampered
off as if you’d promised to marry him.”
“As if I’d—wait.
Who…?” The words died in her throat and Senza gaped, distracted by someone on
the other side of the room.
Felicity craned her
head to see who had stolen her friend’s attention.
The room faded around
Senza, the noise of the guests thinning, the press of the crowd easing. A lone
figure stepped into the doorway. The world just fell away, tatters and pieces
that faded around her. The only real, tangible thing in the room was that
stranger.
For a moment, Senza
forgot how to breathe. Who was he?
Tall, but not
towering. Nice shoulders, a handsome coat. The cut of the jacket hinted at a
pleasant physique, the material gleaming darkly with the sheen of silk. His
hair was longer than the others wore, dark and smooth and drawn back in a
ribbon, although a fringe had fallen loose. The strands hung down in a boyish
tumble to frame his eyes, large and black and shimmering like obsidian.
Those eyes were fixed
upon hers.
When he noticed her
looking at him, he flashed a sharp, secret smile. Nothing boyish about it. That
look made something inside her flutter, high up between her ribs. She struggled
to draw a breath, her corset suddenly too tight—
And then, he was
gone. Disappeared into the crowd. Vanished like a ghost.
She started after him
without hesitation. She had to speak to him. The need was overwhelming and
desperate.
There. That doorway.
He must have gone through there.
Beyond, the wide
corridor turned sharply around the perimeter of the cross-shaped ballroom. She
scanned each direction, catching a glimpse of long black coattails flashing
around the corner to the left. A throaty chuckle tickled the edge of her
hearing. She bunched her gown and pattered after the voice, always a step
behind.
Rounding the corner,
out of breath, her disappointment blossomed. Still nowhere to be seen. Another
snatch of soft laughter. She ran after it, turning corner after
evergreen-trimmed corner. No open doors. No sign of him. Midway through the
corridor stood wide the doorway to the ballroom within and she lunged to the
mistletoe-clad archway, searching the crowd.
A hand reached out
and pulled her back into the hallway.
“Senza.” Felicity
held her arm fast and hissed her name. “What are you doing?”
Senza faltered,
disoriented. She felt as if she emerged from a fog. What had she been doing?
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Author
Info
AJ (Ash) Krafton writes because if she
doesn't, her kids will…and NOBODY wants that. A speculative fiction girl
through and through, Ash writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels as
well as poetry and short fiction. Her work has won a bunch of awards and was
even nominated for a Pushcart Prize. When she's not writing, she's practicing
Tai Chi, listening to loud rock and metal, or crushing on supervillains.
Most recently, she's re-released her
urban fantasy trilogy THE BOOKS OF THE DEMIMONDE because she never really left
the world of Sophie and her Demivamps.
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