"Science Fiction" means—to us—everything found in the science fiction section of a bookstore, or at a science fiction convention, or amongst the winners of the Hugo awards given by the World Science Fiction Society. This includes the genres of science fiction (or sci-fi), fantasy, slipstream, alternative history, and even stories with lighter speculative elements. We hope you enjoy the broad range that SF has to offer.
Erin M. Hartshorn is a desert rat (native Nevadan) transplanted to a humid climate. Her fiction has appeared both online and in print. She blogs a few times a week at www.erinmhartshorn.com.
Ariana's heartbeat echoed the last word of the spell: dub-dub. The tugging began, as though invisible gremlins had grabbed her arm. Yara's shriek made Ariana swivel her head. Yara was being pulled in the opposite direction.
Cloth ripped as the single dress with two necks was tugged with the girls. Her pulse grew louder.
Ariana closed her eyes in agony as she and Yara were ripped asunder by the spell. Mother hadn't said it would be this painful.
Silence came. Her eyes flew open; she had no heart.
"The kingdom can have but one queen," Yara said, rising up.
The End
This story was first published on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Author Comments
I was thinking about conjoined twins and the challenges of separating them. Most of the solutions fell into science or science-fiction territory, but I wanted to try something in fantasy.
- Erin M. Hartshorn
Become a Member!
We hope you're enjoying Heartbeat by Erin M. Hartshorn.
Please support Daily Science Fiction by becoming a member.
Daily Science Fiction does not have a paywall, but we do have expenses—more than 95% of which are direct payments to authors for their stories. With your $15 membership, less than 6 cents per story, we can continue to provide genre fiction every weekday by email and on the website to thousands of readers for many years to come. You may also choose to support us via patreon.
Rate This Story
Please click to rate this story from 1(ho-hum) to 7(excellent!):
