The Farren Queens

Samir

He didn't want to believe her. He wanted her to be lying. It must have been some form of a cruel joke. His father wasn't dead. Lahan Balil knew what would happen. He wouldn't have been so stupid as to protect the queen at the expense of his own life.
I'm doing the same thing though, aren't I? he thought to himself.

Samir's father had always been there for him, and Samir had grown up believing he always would be. Now, he would never get to say goodbye.

How could you let this happen? he asked her.

"I didn't ask for him to save me. One minute I was having a pleasant conversation with him and the next he was on the ground, covered in blood. It wasn't my fault."

Why didn't he just push you?

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." she responded, "If he had, Samir would still have a father."

All over again, the grief hit him like a brick. Samir would never hear his father's soft voice again. His father would never train with him. He would never listen as his father told tales of soldiers lost at sea, or fairies in the world. Samir would never say goodbye to him again. He would never experience his father's love again.

Anger tore through him. He was not used to the raging fire that burned through his mind. He was not used to the way it ate away at all of his rational thoughts, leaving only raw pain. The flame raked through him until it found something to latch onto.
It was her fault. Amara hadn't killed him, but she was the reason his father was dead. She should have known. She should have saved him. Samir knew he wasn't thinking logically. He knew his grief was slamming these thoughts into him, but that didn't make it any less real.

The worst part was that he had to protect her. Without knowing, Amara Niran was the world's only hope. He hated that it was his father's dying wish. Nevertheless, he would return with her to the palace and ensure she was ruling. He would have to tell her everything. He hated that his father's murderer was the one he was sworn to help.

She didn't murder him. he corrected, not wanting to believe it. His father was dead. Amara hadn't killed him. She hadn't lied. He kept telling himself that over and over again, trying to accept the truth.