Buried Hearts

By Khalil Shafiq

A forbidden love. A city doomed by the gods. A story buried for two millennia.

In the bustling, sun-drenched city of Pompeii, in Ancient Rome, 79 A.D., Nikos and Lucio share a life built on stolen moments and secret vows whilst performing their daily chores. Their love is a fragile, passionate fire, burning brightly in the shadow of their servitude and the ever watchful eyes of their masters, the Valerii family.

As the family scrambles to arrange a politically crucial wedding, Nikos and Lucio cling to a shared dream: escaping to Rome to build a life together, but the gods, as often happens, have other plans.

The earth is restless.

Subtle tremors shake the city, hot, foul-smelling water pours from the public fountains, and the slumbering Vesuvius begins to stir. As ash rains down and panic grips Pompeii, the Valerii family flees, leaving Nikos and Lucio behind to guard a house that is rapidly becoming a tomb rather than a house they have always known.

Trapped by duty and destiny, they must either flee or confront the fury of the gods and the crumbling world around them.

Buried Hearts is a powerful LGBTQ Historical Fiction novel that immerses readers in the final, tragic days of Pompeii, celebrating a Gay Fiction love story powerful enough to defy an empire and survive the apocalypse.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9528809545
• ISBN13: 9789528809548
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Khalil Shafiq
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 8.0"