The Golden King — Max Overton

The chief of the tribe is dead, killed by his son's treachery; and the priestess, the lover of the young cavalry officer, Nikometros, is carried off into the mountains. Nikometros and his friends set off in pursuit. Death rides with them and by the time they return, the tribes are at war. Nikometros is faced with the choice of attempting to become chief himself or leaving the people he has come to love and respect, returning to his duty as an army officer in the Empire of Alexander.