Himoto was the closest thing to a parent she had.
It was kind of sad when she thought about it. As a mentor, there was none better. Himoto was a soldier others looked up to. A born leader.
As a parent, he was less than ideal—even to his own biological daughter.
He had always preferred a hands-off approach, saying people learned best from their own mistakes. While true, it was difficult to accept that kind of mindset when you were a child who only wished for the attention of the person you respected the most.
Things like love and affection weren’t high on Himoto’s list of necessities.
Kira had grown up strong and independent—if a tad lonely.
She’d tried to tell herself she didn’t care. Not about the way she’d grown up or the parents who would have loved her.
“The past should stay in the past,” Kira whispered, trying to make herself believe it.
Pain was the only thing that would come of opening that door.
Harding and Liliana weren’t waiting for her in that room. All that was left was their memory and the remnants of the life that should have been theirs. The dreams they’d had for their future daughter.
Kira leaned her head against the doorway.
Judging by Harlow’s actions, her father would have been a good man. Her mother beloved. Not just by him but by many in Roake.
People like that deserved a good ending. Not the one they’d got.
There was an ache in Kira at the knowledge she’d never truly know the people they were. Never experience the love they would have heaped on her.
Once she opened that door, she’d know all that she’d been missing. Grief would come and along with it, fury.
Did she want to put herself through that?
She was already angry enough. Rage woven into the tapestry of her soul. It was what made her such an effective soldier.
Despite knowing all that, she couldn’t help but waver in her resolve to leave that door locked.
Just a glimpse. That was all she needed to assuage her curiosity. To say she did it and move on. Then she’d go back to burying her head in the sand.
Kira took a tiny step forward.
A sound intruded.
Kira froze.
Harlow stood in the middle of the hallway, seeming almost as surprised as Kira at their unexpected meeting.
His gaze went from Kira to the door she had been about to approach. “Going in?”
Kira hesitated, casting a final glance at the intricate carvings before taking a step back. “No. Just curious.”
Harlow murmured something to the two oshota standing beside him. They nodded before taking their leave.
Kira watched them go, her attention moving to Harlow as he approached her. He looked tired. The skin around his eyes and mouth carved with grooves.
“How much trouble are you in because of me?” Kira asked with a sense of guilt.
A quick smile came and went on Harlow’s face. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“You’ll tell me if there’s something I can do,” Kira said.
