Blurb:
From the scorching plains of Persia to the opulent city of Babylon, Ashley and Alexander continue their sensuous and passionate journey through history. Alexander the Great is now king of Persia and Greece but his reign will be short. Time-travelling Ashley knows when her husband will die. She's determined to cheat Fate and save Alexander and her children, even if it brings the gates of time crashing down. Following Alexander on a tour of his new kingdom, she plans her moves and bides her time. She must, however, convince Alexander to abandon his crown and his kingdom.
Excerpt:
We had two weeks of marching through arid land before we came to Bampur. The most difficult part of our journey was over.
We’d lost more than five thousand souls in the desert. We arrived in tatters, deeply shocked by all the men, women and children who’d perished. We were relieved to be in a place where sweet water flowed in abundance and the grass grew green. It was like a rebirth, like arriving in paradise, and to top everything off the whole city had turned out to greet Alexander, conquering hero, and king of the world.
Alexander, conquering hero! The people lined the streets. They sat on the rooftops and were already hoarse from cheering by the time we were near enough to hear them.
Alexander, king of the world! Flowers fell like rain, wine flowed like rivers, the soldiers were feted and acclaimed, and Alexander’s name was on everyone’s lips. He had returned to his kingdom and the city, like a bride, opened her arms to him.
It was heady stuff for a man suddenly to realize that this was the summit of his glory. He had been fighting for so long that he’d forgotten why. He’d been struggling to reclaim a crown and consolidate a kingdom and now that it was done, suddenly, here it was. Here was his kingdom. It was just the edge, but it was here, and the people were weeping, screaming, and swooning when they saw him.
Even I, who had seen one of the ancient newsreels of the Beatles arriving in America, was impressed. The Beatles were an old hat compared to Alexander. These people had no television either. They had been waiting for months for a glimpse of the young king.
Here he was, and, by the gods! He was young! He was handsome! He waved and grinned and cried. His hair was bleached pale gold, his skin was burned deep brown, his eyes glittered blue and brown, and they were huge in his starving face. His purple cape was in tatters, but the mayor of the city gave him a new one. He wore the crown of Darius on his noble head and he carried the spear of a cavalry officer. His men had polished their bronze weapons until they shone in the red setting sun like drops of blood. The horses, wild with the scent of grass and water whinnied and screamed at the crowds, and the crowds screamed back.
Everyone cried, everyone laughed. It was our first homecoming and we were drunk within seconds with the ecstasy of ‘Nostos’, the return. We drank from the cups held out by every hand towards us. The men all had purple mouths and staggered drunkenly by the time we left the city and headed towards the encampment, but Alexander was drunk on glory. His eyes were brilliant and his color hectic. His face burned with fever and he had no voice left to speak.
Don’t forget to visit the other stops on the tour.
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