by Alanea Alder
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.
"I heard I could find you here," a familiar voice called out.
She turned from watching her arm be wrapped in plastic to see her boss striding toward her. "Hello, sir."
He winced. "Can't you call me Cam? Sir, while is work appropriate, doesn't really fit anymore, does it? Unless you're planning on staying my deputy and taking over for me," he asked hopefully.
"Sorry, Cam, the queen has put me in charge of the taskforce leading the nationwide search for her people." She looked at Ari's aunts, then to her tattoo. "Even once that is done, I have a feeling there's a lot these women can teach me. I'd rather focus on what I can learn, not punch the clock."
"Congratulations on becoming an Eliana's Daughter. When it became apparent you were Ari's mate, I had a feeling you'd end up here." He pointed to the training hall.
"What has you swinging by, Cam?" Ari asked, wiping his face with his shirt.
Cam pointed to her. "I just needed to get her official answer before I could process her paperwork. Seemed like something I should do in person, rather than over the phone."
Brie would miss working with Cam and River, but not enough to divide a large portion of her time away from her mate, especially with how delicious he was looking.
"Gonna miss you guys," she said, looking up at the man who had taught her everything she knew about investigating and working with the public.
"We're going to miss you too," Cam heaved a huge sigh. "Now, I have to find a replacement for you." He frowned down at her. "Do you know how lucky I felt when I found you? A brilliant mind that I didn't want to strangle three times a day?"
"Emerson," she said and gingerly pulled on her shirt.
His eyebrows shot up. "Emerson? Really? Does he even know how to talk?"
She threw a wadded up paper towel at him. "Of course, he knows how to talk. He's just quiet." She smiled. "But he’s also very thorough and conscientious. Given some prodding, I think he'll make a perfect Sheriff."
Cam rubbed his jaw. "Emerson, hmm."
"Trust me on this. He'll be wonderful."
"I'll try him out and see what happens." He looked at his watch. "If I hurry, I might catch him before he leaves." He gave her a one-armed hug then jogged out the door.
Ari pulled her to her feet. "We have just enough time for a shower and maybe a quick nap before we have to head out to the palace."
She shook her head. "Let's head there now. If I take a shower and lay down, I'm not getting back up for anything less than Leo's cooking."
Ari thought about it a moment then nodded. "Good point." He leaned down and kissed Elysa on the cheek. "Thank you, Auntie."
Elysa stood then ruffled his hair. "Get on with you two. The sooner you can solve all these murders, the sooner I can start training Brie."
Brie gave a mock salute. "Marching orders received."
Hand in hand, they headed back toward the palace. When they had been on their way to the Lionhart estate to get her tattoo, she'd dragged her feet because she wasn't looking forward to the needle gun, now they were both meandering slowly because they were exhausted.
When Cord let them into the dining area, where it looked like a late lunch or early dinner, hors d'oeuvres were being served. At once, Brie noticed the heavy atmosphere.
"What now?" she asked, as they sat down.
Amelia turned to her. "Nothing really, well, yet."
"Huh?"
Amelia pointed to where Aiden scowled into his plate of french fries. "Meryn is still asleep," she explained.
"So, wake her," Brie suggested.
Aiden stabbed his french fry into his ketchup. "But she needs her rest."
"I no like," a tiny voice chirped. It was the sprite, Felix, that looked to Meryn. Brie had to suppress the urge to cuddle him every time he appeared.
Ryuu held out his hand, and Felix flew to him. "Why?" he asked.
Felix stood on Ryuu's large palm. "She too far away."
Ryuu looked at Aiden. "I'm waking her." With that decree, he spun and headed toward the bedrooms.
Aiden, Brennus, Kendrick, Amelia, and Thane were hot on his heels.
The boys stood, looking torn. They looked from the direction of Meryn and Aiden’s rooms to their laptops and back.
"Boys, go see what's going on with Meryn. She still needs to review the locations and to be honest, the only thing Ari and I are good for right now is a shower and dinner," Brie suggested.
"Right. Good idea. Come on, Pip, Neil," Nigel said, and all th
ree boys quickly beelined it toward Meryn's room.
Ari snagged a croissant and stood. "We'll swing by tomorrow to catch up," he promised.
The queen nodded absently, distracted by her worry over her niece. "Of course."
Brie hated every step they took, trudging their back to the Lionhart estate for what seemed like the billionth time. "I hate this walk now," she growled.
"How about this?" He started when they reached the Lionhart front gate. "You head up for your shower, and I'll have Leo arrange for dinner to be delivered to our rooms. We'll eat and turn in early," he suggested.
"If I wasn't head over heels in love with you before," she said, tilting her head back.
"I know, I know," he said, smiling before kissing her softly.
Once inside, she went upstairs, and he headed for the kitchen. She was nearly done when he made it up to their room. After his shower, he turned on the television to the Discovery Channel to watch How Things are Made and they waited for dinner.
To her delight, Leo surprised them with a huge selection of finger foods and appetizers. When he offered her a choice between three types of beer she thought she'd cry.
She snuggled in close to Ari as they split a platter of nachos, mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, and sliders. The food was savory, the beer was cold, and Ari was spoiling her at every turn.
When they turned in for the night, and Ari once again pulled her into the curve of his body, she couldn't imagine a more perfect evening than the one they just enjoyed. None of the magical splendors of Éire Danu could come close to eating bar food with Ari on the floor of their room watching television. Her beautiful mate made even the most simple things treasures to be enjoyed, and she could no longer live without him.
Chapter Eighteen
Meryn blinked then looked around. The room was familiar with its stark white marble and glass.
"Hello again," a deep voice greeted her.
Meryn spun around and growled. "I better not be dying again. That shit hurt." Damn, he was just as beautiful as she remembered.
He shook his head. "There is no need for that method this time. When you called out before, stating that you wanted to meet me, the path was created. You, in essence, invited me in. Now, I can speak to you like this whenever I wish, especially on nights where you've thought of me."
"Can I uninvite you?"
He nodded. "You could, but, then we wouldn't be able to chat," he smiled slyly. "And something tells me you're too curious to do that."
She sighed then glanced around the room. "You got any chairs?"
The man waved his hand, and the room was suddenly completely furnished. "Please, make yourself comfortable."
Meryn hesitated. "Is this another, 'oh by the way, bad shit is happening but by all means park your butt on my insanely expensive leather couch' kinda thing?"
"No, as I said before, I don't believe I will be killing you."
Meryn walked over and climbed up on the cream leather loveseat. At first it was cold, but soon her body heat had it quite comfortable. "So, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
He sat down across from her. "To be perfectly honest, I was curious about you. What makes you so dangerous to me that multiple witches warned me of you?"
"Rowan said something about you being honest, that you never lied to him, but therein lies your treachery." Meryn noticed the slight change in his expression, before it went back to his carefully crafted mask.
"I never lie. Most of the people I work with lie to themselves; I don't have to."
Meryn had a moment of clarity. "You can't lie, can you?"
He flinched. "I'm starting to see what the witches were referring to. You see things others don't."
"But you can evade the question." She stared. "God, that has to absolutely suck."
He blinked in surprise. "You're the first to ever voice that opinion."
"I personally don't like to lie since I have this tendency to just blurt out whatever I'm thinking, so that makes remembering to edit what I say impossible, so I can kinda sympathize. Because, trust me, there were times I wish I could have lied and couldn't."
Meryn met his gaze. "How can I kill you?"
"Did you really think I was going to answer that? Besides, why kill me? I've been nothing but cordial with you."
She ground her teeth together. "Because you killed my parents, so I'm going to kill you."
He tilted his head. "I did no such thing."
Meryn jumped to her feet. "I saw the moment they died. Your warrior ferals with red tattoos were there. My mother had a premonition that she and my father died horribly at their hands and drank a poison to evade capture. But they wouldn't have had to do that if you hadn't sicced your reapers on them," she shouted. Every moment she had lived without her parents fueled her anger, which burned even fiercer now that she had had a glimpse at how wonderful they had been and how much they had truly loved her.
He stood and gently took both her hands in his. "Meryn, you have figured out my one true weakness. Look at me," he ordered.
She choked down her tears and stared up at him defiantly. "I had nothing to do with their deaths. I only asked that your father be brought in for a simple conversation. Unlike you, he had never opened a channel for me to speak to him, so it had to be done in person, as it were."
Meryn felt the fight in her evaporate. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was telling the simple truth without any trickery. "Why did you need him?" she whispered.
He steered her back to her couch and had her sit down before sitting on the coffee table in front of her. "Even for a fae, he was a man ahead of his time. His use of fae magic was extraordinary. In exchange for the information he sought, I wanted him to make me something. That is all, Meryn, I promise you."
His eyes began to blaze scarlet. "You have revealed a treachery I did not even know existed. The one I trusted to bring your father in reported to me that they came upon your parents' house as it was burning and that there were dead ferals in the yard indicative of a random attack." His eyes darkened to a deep crimson. "True, your parents didn't die at the hands of my men, but according to your mother, they would have. In my eyes, that is one and the same."
"Who was it?" she asked.
He met her eyes, and she couldn't look away. "I'll make you a deal," he started.
"No way. I've seen tons of movies, and I always think the person who makes the deal is an idiot for trusting the bad guy," Meryn shook her head.
"I swear to you there is no trick to my offer. It's an exchange, pure and simple. If you accept, you free me to do what I wish."
She pointed at him. "That right there, is the scary part, by the way."
His eyes faded back to scarlet. "Let me explain. Nearly all my actions are dictated by contracts. I cannot go forth and impale the lying bastard that killed your father, because I haven't been contracted to do so. If we make an arrangement, then I am free to do more."
Meryn hesitated, if Ryuu were here he'd have scooped her up and marched from the room by now. "What do you want in exchange?" She tried to ignore the ball of ice forming in her stomach.
He held up a finger. "A single memory. One that I can keep as my own and replay as I wish."
"Huh?"
He pointed to the room. "White marble and glass. Do you think I chose such an aesthetic?"
Meryn looked around. "You mean, I did this?"
He nodded. "I told you the last time we spoke, my environment is hot and dry." He smiled as he touched the coffee table. "It is a relief to be cool for a change." He eyed her. "Why white marble and glass?" he asked.
Meryn shrugged. "I think it's because you look like an angel to me," she admitted.
He simply stared then burst into laughter. "Never, in all my long, long millennia has anyone ever thought me an angel."
She tilted her head. "Why? I think you're the epitome of what an angel looks, sounds, and acts like."
"Every modern religion would call me a demon or dev
il."
"Yeah, but wasn't the devil once an angel?"
His laughter died. "You're serious."
"I think that you are doing horrible things. I think that you've caused tens of thousands to suffer," she paused. She couldn't put her finger on it. "But for some reason"—she pointed to her chest—"in here, you don't seem evil. Not truly evil."
"Well, I am. I offer men choices they cannot refuse and seal their fates. As I told you before, I kill people, you should remember that."
She snapped her fingers. "That's what I was missing. They have a choice, don't they? They could always choose to say no." She pointed to the room. "You're not forcing me to say yes."
"Is it really a choice when I deliberately offer them everything they desire?"
She blinked. "Yes."
He sighed. "You're so very young."
Meryn took in his exasperation and made up her mind. "I'll do it. Because I trust you to uphold your end of the bargain," she said, leaning back against the sofa. She ran her hand over the leather. If this was from her mind, she had damn good taste.
"Haven't we just gone over why you shouldn't trust me?"
"Yup."
"You realize that I may still kill you?"
"Yup."
"I don't get you."
"Join the club; Aiden is the president."
He sat up straight. "Here are the terms. I will arrange for the deaths of every creature involved with your parents' murder and will gift you the memory of their demise. In exchange, I want a single memory from you. Once you choose the memory and offer it to me, it will be gone for good. Do you agree?"
"I get to choose?"
"Yes."
"Deal," she paused. "I don't have to sign anything in blood right?"
"No, no blood. Your verbal agreement is binding."
She looked around. "What happens now?"
"Now, you think about the memory that you wish to offer."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes."
"Why a memory?"
"Because through a memory I get to experience everything you saw, smelled, felt, heard or tasted."
"Because you're in that dry, hot box right?"
"Yes."
Meryn wrapped her arms around herself. She had experienced something similar growing up and wouldn't wish it on her greatest enemy. She looked across the room. Literally. As much as her brain wanted to avoid the memory of being in her grandmother's attic, it was tied to the one she wanted to give.