Roxelana & Suleyman

CHAPTER ONE-2

Dariusz shuddered in a numbing shock... the mess of horses and Tartar stopping just short of Aleksandra. He had no time to check if she were alive or dead. He saw only the pristine whiteness of her neck arching back at an odd angle amongst the waves and flaming curls of her hair. Fat droplets of horse and Tartar blood were splattered along its length. He picked up the dead-weight of her body and threw it over the back of his horse. Snatching the warrior’s sword, he mounted the mare behind her and once more galloped toward the entrance to the fort. A group of Tartars climbed the slope toward the same goal. With one hand holding tight to Aleksandra, he urged the mare to race as fast as she was able. But so did the Tartars who saw his flight. Dariusz yelled to the men on top of the fort wall—his voice hoarse and broken, exacerbated by a smoky, pungent bile in his mouth, and an all-embracing terror. He closed the gap between himself and the gate. The invaders closed in even faster. Arrows flew. Several struck the white mare. She screamed and wrenched. Dariusz hunkered down, kicking his heels more firmly into her b****y flanks. The fort gate grated, slightly ajar. The mare hurtled across the last paces and stumbled through the opening, just before it was shouldered shut with a jerking, scraping shudder. She collapsed to the ground, dead—throwing both Dariusz and Aleksandra into a tumbling, unconscious heap.