CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN
The bitterness of winter came and went until, finally, Istanbul shimmered in the glaring white heat of summer.
It had been a year since Suleyman had left with the Grand Vizier, Davud and the Janissaries on the campaign to Baghdad. It had also been a year since the doors to the Valide Sultana’s court had been boarded up after the devastating fire. Now Haseki had ordered them opened. Two eunuchs pulled at the boards—heaving with all their strength to yank the doors open on their rusted hinges. The twist of metal resounded in the corridor, sending a shiver down her spine.
Haseki despised and hated these eunuchs for reasons she could not formulate since the time they had arrived in the harem. One of them dared look directly at her face. She felt the urge to sl
