Before Granada, King Ferdinand turns war into a study of betrayal, quietly deciding that the city will fall not by brute force but by dividing its defenders and turning suspicion into a weapon. In his royal tent, he schools his young son Juan in the uses of power, then receives Almamen, a Jewish emissary who offers his daughter Leila as a hostage and bargains for protection for his people instead of gold. Ferdinand's polished courtesy masks a ruthless hypocrisy, while a Dominican friar's presence underscores the story's atmosphere of surveillance, prejudice, and secret compact. As Christian and Moorish forces move toward open battle, Almamen's intrigues unsettle both sides and the proud cavalry of the Marquess de Villena rides out into a landscape of beauty and danger, only to be trapped in a Moorish ambush. The fighting explodes into a chivalric and savage clash, with Muza Ben Abil Gazan cutting through the Spanish ranks and mortally wounding Don Alonzo de Pacheco, while Villena and Hernando del Pulgar fight on amid mounting chaos. Reinforced by Ferdinand and the royal banner, the Christians press the struggle, but the Moors hold firm and withdraw in order. Back in Granada, the victory exposes a deeper crisis: King Boabdil's hesitation, his slave Amine's urgent counsel, and Ayxa la Horra's fierce rebuke all demand the courage he lacks. Across court, camp, and battlefield, the novel entwines faith, vengeance, ambition, and political science in a vivid tale of conquest and divided loyalties. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
