Today I’m delighted to share an excerpt from The Hussar’s Duty by Griffin Brady.
Chapter 23 – Tremors
Oliwia had donned her cloak and exited the castle walls, making for St. Lawrence’s vaulted vestibules, black-and-white marble tiled floors, and high windows that threw down prismed light. She should have arranged for a male escort, but said males in her party were engaged in the tiltyards. Besides, Nadia walked beside her, they were within the walls of the city, and the sun was high in the early afternoon sky.
They scurried across Viche Square into the welcoming embrace of the cathedral’s walls. Nerves that had been jangling off and on for days suddenly calmed as she dipped her fingers in the font’s cool water, genuflected, and crossed herself under the watchful eyes of the archangels high above the glorious altar. She had come to love those angels.
The place was stunning … and mostly empty, which gave her an opportunity to linger as long as she pleased. She lit candles for each of her children, her brother, and Jacek, before selecting a pew close to the front. Kneeling, she bent her head over her hands clasped in prayer, dimly aware that Nadia sat several pews back.
Mary, Mother of God, I beseech you, please protect …
How long her prayers ran on and how much she repeated them, she could not say. When she lifted her head, shadows moved across the high windows. Glancing over her shoulder, she glimpsed Nadia sitting, rather than kneeling, and the maid seemed to be asleep. Oliwia suppressed a smile and sent one last prayer heavenward. She made to rise, but her knees and lower legs had gone numb. Eyes cast downward, she rearranged herself and grasped the pew to heave herself to her feet. A looming shadow, followed by a rank smell, had her eyes flying fully open. A man she did not recognize stood beside her, broadside to the altar so that he faced her side.
He crowded her. “Ain’t this a fortunate coincidence?” Breath fouled with the smell of decaying teeth and spirits blasted her, and his raspy voice sent alarm bells clanging in her head. She knew that voice! She turned to run, but a viselike grip clamped down on her arm. “Such a fine, fine lady. I have been dreaming of you ever since our encounter, my pet. Let’s go somewhere quiet where we can become better acquainted and tend to our unfinished business.”
My pet?
Terror seized her, and she kicked out, landing a blow to the man’s inner thigh. She had missed her mark, but he howled nonetheless, giving her a split second to whirl and run to the main aisle. Nadia startled to life and took off in the opposite direction toward one of the chapels. Behind Oliwia, the man thumped his way along the pew, though his steps were clumsy, uneven.
Finally unhampered by the pew, Oliwia ran shrieking down the aisle. “Help! Highwayman! Help!”
A stunned priest and several worshippers were congregated in a portal. The priest shouted for a guard, and Oliwia slowed enough to look over her shoulder. Her would-be attacker was headed for the sanctuary with all haste, but Nadia … Where was Nadia?
Here’s the blurb
Poland’s most valiant winged hussar is called to fight in a campaign ripe for disaster. But he must also protect those he loves from jackals waiting to pounce. How does he choose between duty and devotion when death is on the line?
When Sultan Osman II sends Poland’s envoy packing, the Commonwealth must prepare for war against one of the largest armies the Ottomans have ever assembled. Tasked with repelling the invasion is Grand Hetman of the Crown Stanisław Żółkiewski, and he knows who to turn to: Jacek Dąbrowski, the Commonwealth’s most valiant Polish winged hussar.
Jacek has been idle far too long, and the call to arms is a siren’s song he can’t resist. But he has built a life far from the battlefield with his wife, Oliwia, and their children. If he pursues his quest for glory, who will safeguard them?
Oliwia knows her husband is restless. In fact, she’s been sending Jacek on cross-country errands for years in the hopes of quelling his lust for battle. When she realizes her efforts are futile, she resolves herself to letting him go—after hatching a scheme to accompany him.
Honor. Obligation. Devotion. These forces push and pull Jacek in different directions. His country needs him, but so does his family. Where does his duty lie? His choice will cause catastrophic ripples no matter which path he follows … and could very well bring the loss of his loved ones or his life.
Will the cost of defending king and country prove too steep for this warrior?
This is a standalone continuation in The Winged Warrior Series.
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Meet the author
Griffin Brady is an award-winning historical fiction author with a keen interest in the Polish Winged Hussars of the 16th and 17th centuries. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Her debut novel, The Heart of a Hussar, was a finalist for the 2021 Chaucer Early Historical Fiction Award and a 2021 Discovered Diamond.
The proud mother three grown sons, she lives in Colorado with her husband. She is also an award-winning bestselling romance author who writes under the pen name G.K. Brady.
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MJ Porter 