Page 23 of Adding Fuel To The Flames

CHAPTER 10

Ethan held his mate closely, trying his best to absorb some of Rhys' pain. The tears that dampened his shirt were like acid burning into his very soul.

"Dain, it's enough. You have to tell him." Justice whispered as he held Avery close.

Turning to his father, Ethan asked, "Tell him what?"

Dain looked at Rhys and Ethan could see the pain in the man's eyes. It was confusing as hell. His actions spoke louder than words. Hell, anyone can say they love someone, but when you abuse that person whether it be physically, verbally, or mentally, then it is clear the words are just a puff of air with no meaning.

Destrain placed a soothing hand on the back of his nephew's head, turned to look at Dain saying, "Either you tell him or I will. How many times do I have to tell you, your son has a right to know?" Destrain turned back to Rhys, stood up, then bent to kiss the top of his head, whispering, "I am so sorry, Rhys. Had I known how much pain you were in, I would have told you everything years ago. I swear to you on my kingdom, you are a loved man and no one, not even your father, intended for things to get this far."

"Destrain, what the fuck are you talking about? How could he feel any other way? For fuck’s sake, you all left him in this realm for a year--A fucking year, alone and having to fend for himself. How the hell is that not supposed to make someone feel unloved and cast aside?" Day snarled.

Illan stepped forward. "If there is something that needs to be said, then let's get on with it. We have issues that need to be taken care of in the present."

Day turned to his father. "One day, Dad, you are going to realize that the world does not revolve around the great and powerful, Illan. This is about my mate! I'm sure if it meant anything to do with yours then you wouldn't be shoving the issue aside, now would you?"

"Day, if I recall I had to swallow a shit tone of stuff when it came to Avery and people constantly hurting him or trying to hurt him. So back off me!" Illan bellowed.

Avery stood up, snapping, "Everyone, please stop yelling. If there is something I learned with everything that happened to me, it's that communication and honesty is the key to the success of every relationship, whether it's with your mates, friends, or family. Just talk to each other and really listen to what that person is saying. Rhys, if you truly want your father in your life, you'll listen. Dain, if you want to continue a relationship with your son, you will tell him whatever it is that he needs to hear."

Ethan practically begged, "Please, Dain. Look at your son. You don't have to be his mate to feel how badly he is hurting inside."

Dain stepped forward, with tears in his eyes. Getting down on his knee where Rhys sat with his head buried into Ethan's chest, the Regent spoke softly, "The moment Clove delivered Desdain, I knew I wanted a child. Seeing my brother and his husband so happy and hearing their laughter, I knew I wanted that. I got word that the pixies might have a traitor in our shimmer. I went to meet with an informant. I remember the second I saw Garlin. He had the most beautiful silver eyes and long black hair with blue streaks. He was small and dainty." Brushing Rhys' hair back, Dain whispered, "You really do look so much like him, Rhys. He gave me the information and my men and I were able to stop an attack against our people. Soon after this, Garlin and I became a couple. Not too long after that, I became pregnant with you. Discovering this news was the happiest day of my life."

Rhys sat up wiping his eyes, but said nothing as Dain spoke. "I loved you from the moment I knew I was pregnant." Swallowing hard, Dain said, "However, it was also then that I noticed Garlin beginning to change. He became more distant, not wanting to share in the pregnancy, and not wanting to be intimate with me anymore. I thought he was just nervous about becoming a father."

Dain stood up but never stopped looking at Rhys. "That is until I saw him speaking to someone I recognized. His name was Corag and he was bad news. I never could get anything on him, but always felt he was a betrayer to our kind. He was arrested a few times for petty theft and assault. I got a sick feeling from that moment on. I didn't want to believe that the father to my child would be a traitor, but I have never, in my entire existence, ignored my gut feeling. I started following Garlin. I had men on him twenty-four hours a day and finally Garlin made a mistake. One of my men was able to get close enough to hear that he was working with a group of people preparing to attack Destrain's castle. I was devastated, but our shimmer came before everyone, including myself. I didn't try talking to him and I didn't let him know what I had discovered. Instead, I planned our next move and we caught the group before they could follow through with their attack. Corag was killed in the skirmish with some of his men and Garlin was taken into custody with the others there and..."

"And I gave the order to have them all put to death for treason against the crown," Destrain whispered.

Rhys gasped, "You ordered my other father to be put to death?"

Destrain looked at Rhys imploringly. "He was ready to kill and destroy our people. It was my duty to protect my shimmer. Remember Rhys, before you were born, we had already been held by the elves for years in captivity. I swore to my people that it would never happen again. I ordered it and I should have kept that order in place."

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked.

Dain sighed, "I went to Destrain and begged for him not to kill Garlin. I used the fact that he was the seed father to my child and guilted Destrain until he relented and instead banished Garlin from our shimmer."

"That's it? Banishment? What in the hell, Destrain, he tried to take out your shimmer?" Illan said in astonishment.

"Stay out of this father!" Day snarled.

Dain looked to Day, and Ethan saw the regret written all over the man. "I didn't want the seed father to my child dead, Illan. I didn't want to have to tell Rhys that the man that helped create him was put to death because of treason to the crown."

"What changed?" Ethan asked.

Justice looked at Rhys, softly saying, "We got the word that the elves and fairies were coming for the pixies. I told Destrain you had to get out of this realm. The war was in full swing and the dragons and phoenix were not thinking about the pixies at this point. It was every race for themselves."

"You knew about this?" Illan asked in shock.

With a small nod, Justice replied, "I was the one that had taken Garlin out of the pixie compound. It seems I didn't take him far enough. I was supposed to take him far away, but then my father needed me and Garlin started to ramble about how he was going to miss the newest attack on Destrain and the others. So, I left him miles away and quickly made my way back to the pixies to warn the king."

Dain quickly spoke, "Justice told us that we were hours if not minutes away from being attacked. Then he got the news about his mother and had to leave."

"I never knew if they got away or not. I hoped that it was the latter, thankfully it was," Justice whispered softly.

Dain sighed. "Destrain created the other realm and we fled. I was terrified that the enemy would follow and I began to search for a protector. One phoenix and one dragon were not going to be enough to save us if they breached our new home. It seems my fears were justified."