There had not been civil war in any of their lifetimes, so it was no wonder if the lot of them were naïve as to the likelihood or lack thereof. Perhaps Mikino was being paranoid. He had been told as much by some of his own advisors.
He couldn’t blame anyone for being surprised he had it in him to be a father. He had been surprised himself. Even when he was told that his wife was expecting, he had simply assumed that Melinda would be the one doing most of the parenting. Perhaps it would have been the case if Shayleiah’s mother had lived. Nonetheless, he had taken to it all.
Several years weren’t as long as he’d have liked. What father was prepared for his little girl to be growing up? “At what age would I be wise to keep her from your corrupting presence?”
A step brought him forward, taking the liberty of reaching to brush back those loose tendrils making their way free of their restraints. “Nothing suitable for an audience. You were the one who requested my time, if I recall correctly.”