Ari took her hand. "We'll swing by, but I imagine Mother will want to have us home for dinner as long as Declan is in Éire Danu."
The queen looked from Oron to Darian. "That's understandable. Everything tastes better when both my sons are home."
They waved and walked out the door, into the halls of the palace. She went as slow as she thought she could get away with. If Ari noticed the snail's pace, he didn't mention it. Much quicker than she'd liked, they were at the Lionhart estate.
He opened the door and led her to the back. Down the middle of an expansive courtyard, a cobble path branched off in different directions.
"Mother put in a shooting range for me and Declan after we became warriors; my aunts use it all the time," he said, pointing toward the back left.
As the passed a large building on the right he smiled. "Dojo."
She perked up. "Maybe I can train later."
"Let's see how your arm feels first."
In the back right-hand corner was another stone building. Without knocking, he opened the door and led her inside. "Aunties! We're here."
The room looked to be some kind of training hall and gym. In the middle of the floor a reclined bench awaited her. Elysa picked up a tattoo gun from a small table next to the bench. "About time you two got here. Park it, missy."
Brie edged toward the seat and, finally facing the inevitable, sat down.
Elysa eyed her carefully. "You don't like needles, do you?"
She shook her head. "Not even a little bit."
Elysa gave a short nod then turned to Ari. "Go work out, she doesn't need you hovering. Battle ropes and chest presses until she's done."
Ari groaned before dropping a kiss on her forehead. "Good luck, baby."
Brie scowled at Elysa. "I could have squeezed his hand to death, you know."
Elysa just smiled. "Trust me, baby girl." She handed her a tank top. "Change into this real quick."
Without even thinking, she pulled off her shirt and changed right there. Once the tank was on, she looked around. Thankfully, she was surrounded by Ari's aunts, and they were the only ones in the building except for Ari.
"Now, lean back and go to your happy place," Elysa teased.
"Happy place, my ass," she grumbled.
At the first touch of the tattoo gun, she about came unglued. It stung and burned all at the same time. She grit her teeth and looked up at the women watching her closely. There was no way in hell she would crumble in front of these amazingly strong female warriors.
It's just a tiny needle. Just a tiny needle. She repeated.
After the first few minutes, she was ready to say 'fuck it' and walk away. Happy place huh? She turned her head and saw Ari approaching the battle ropes. He whipped off his shirt overhead and threw it down on the mat before bending down to pick up the thick ropes. Adjusting his stance so that his feet were shoulder width apart, he began working the ropes. With his knees bent slightly, his normally perfect and firm ass ascended to divine status. She sighed and watched as his arms rose and fell as he easily made the impossibly heavy ropes dance to his tune. The slap of the rope on the mats provided a rhythmic staccato that had her mind drifting as she watched her god-like mate flex and move.
"Happy place," she whispered.
Elysa just chuckled, and Brie whipped around to look at her. The older lioness had planned this! "Can I be you when I grow up?" she whispered.
Elysa just winked. "Stick around, kid, there's a lot we can teach you. This"—she pointed to the tattoo—"is literally just the beginning."
Brie just gave a short nod then turned her attention back to Ari, because as she had been talking to Elysa, the burning in her arm had increased.
The entire process took six hours, of which she had only had to have Elysa stop once to give her a minute to catch her breath.
By the time the tattoo was done, both she and Ari were whipped. The tattoo itself was an intricate band of knot work lions around her arm. Each panel was a different scene that told a story. Elysa said she'd teach her about later.
The tattoo wasn't very big, but using magical ink meant Elysa had to go slower than normal. Evidently, the ink was spelled to help her heal and link her to the pride. If her life were ever in danger, the tattoo would alert her new sisters.