#netos

Not long, the temple suddenly appeared to them, which he correctly guess was done by powerful magic. His first late wife had been a sorceress of sorts, so he knew how to recognize magic when it had been used. He saw two figures outside of the temple. One was a tall man, whom he recognized as Kisu, his step daughter’s guard and beloved. The other was his daughter Samira. As soon as they were close enough, he dismounted his horse. Samira, who had been alerted of their presence by the sounds of the horses arriving, run up to them. Then, he and Samira embraced each other tightly.

"I was so worried about you, my darling girl!" Netos lamented in Arabic. 

"I'm sorry, baba. So much as happened." Samira replied tearfully, burying her face into his shoulder.

While Lysandra went to speak to Kisu, Netos pulled back and cupped Samira’s face with his hands. Her eyes were full of sorrow, which scared him. But, then, he noticed something else as he looked at her eyes: there was a white ring around her iris, which seemed to dimly glow. 

“What happened, Samira?” Netos asked.

“Come inside, baba. I shall tell you.” Samira told him, taking his hand and leading him into the temple.

Soon, they were in her quarters, and there Samira told him about what happened in Paraiso. 

First, she told him about how she and Kisu had found out that Ulises had indeed harmed, or tried to harm, his sister Estefania for the heirdom. It was more than likely that his actions resulted in Estefania’s death.

Then, she told him about how Kisu was actually Edward Delacruz, and how Ulises had exposed him during a meeting between him, Luisa, Aurora Delacruz, and Vergil Delacruz. She then told him about the powerful woman, a apparent defender of Ulises’s, who attacked them, and had injured her, but they were able to escape before she could do more harm. Then, she told him about how she did a ritual to make herself more powerful in order to protect herself and Edward from Ulises and whatever powerful allies he had. To his relief, the ritual had been successful. Luisa was still in Paraiso, most likely heart broken, and was possibly now allied with him.

Netos couldn’t help but feel that Samira was leaving things out, but due to how grave the situation was, he decided not to press on about the missing details. Instead, he asked after a moment to soak all of the information in.

“...I suspected that Ulises had something to do with Estefania’s disappearence, but I was hoping I was wrong...” Netos began, feeling a heaviness in his stomach, “That poor girl. And now, Luisa is with him? He’s dangerous!”

“She’s heartbroken over Kisu’s true identity. He loves her, and was scared to reveal who he really is,” Samira said with a sad frown. “So, she now trusts Ulises above anyone else... most likely, including me.”

Netos looked up at his daughter, narrowing his dark eyes. “And, you trust Edward Delacruz? He did lie to her, to us, to everyone in Etihad...”

“I do. He didn’t hide his identity out of malice. It was out of survival. In fact, he was planning to tell her, but Ulises beat him to it.” Samira told him, crossing her arms. “But, he helped me while I was injured. He’s given me reasons to trust him.”

She then reached out to take his hands, and squeezed them. “Baba, I can not stay here. I put you, Amon, and the rest of our family in danger. Plus, I must help Edward. It’s the only way I could possibly get through to Luisa. Ulises must be held accountable for what he’s done to his sister.” She said with determination.

Netos stared at her, feeling dread in the pits of his stomach. He was so fearful for her. He had lost two wives already -- he did not wish to lose his daughters too. His eyes began to become filled with tears, but he refused to let them fall. His daughter needed him to be strong. She needed to be sure that he’d be alright without her.

He then pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear, sadly smiling. “Then, I shall miss you, my sweet daughter. I shall miss you greatly.”

Samira’s face crumpled, and she hugged him again. “I’ll miss you too, baba.”

 That was when Netos couldn’t help but allow a few tears to fall. Soon, they both wiped their tears, and she stood up to take something out of a drawer by her bed.

“...Shadid is in Paraiso.” Netos revealed, causing Samira to look back at him.

“Then, it’s good that you came soon. No doubt Ulises will have him look for us here...” Samira told him with an irritated look on her face. Netos was aware of the fact that Samira was no fan of Shadid Zamorar, especially given the way he had treated her before.

She took out a letter from the drawer and approached him. “When you get back home, please send this out up north, to Michael. I don’t want him to come here to look for me. If I know Ulises, he’ll probably ask Shadid to arrest him or something to get to me...” She took a moment to take in a sharp, deep breath, as if she had become overwhelmed. But, she exhaled through her mouth, and remained calm.“...Will you send this to him? I’d send it myself but I am afraid it’ll fall into the wrong hands.”

“Of course.” Netos agreed, taking the letter and pocketing it. “But, what will you have me tell Amon? He must be told something.”

“Tell him what Ulises did, but urge him to keep it to himself as long as we do not have proof. Ulises was able to ahead of Edward, and he’ll do the same if he knows that Amon suspects him. He already knows Amon doesn’t like him...” Samira said. “And tell him to keep an eye on Shadid. Shadid is not a bad man, but I can see that Ulises had already begun to mislead him. Plus, it doesn’t look good for Edward.”

“No, it doesn’t. It wouldn’t be hard for Ulises to get Shadid on his side right now,” Netos replied with a shake of his head. “But, will you be alright? Once you leave Etihad, you will no longer be under the protect of Amon.”

Samira had stood up to begin to pack her things in a sack. She put Michael’s letters, still unopened, in there to read them later, or so he guessed. She looked back at him and gave him a soft nod, a hint of a smile upon her features.