Enemy Mine

Chapter 66

The week came and went like a bunch of cut flowers, and before I knew it, the day of my battle with Deidra had arrived. Unfortunately, I couldn't shake the raging headache that had been with me for two days, the result of a change I made before Friday night's training. Nothing seemed to help, not even meditation, and I resorted to taking pain reliever every six hours to manage it. While my subconscious tried to convince me I was sabotaging my chances for a fair fight with Deidra, I also wanted to blame the fire mantra I'd been practicing.

Deidra arrived in New York the night before, bunking with the Cromwells rather than with Colin. Vincent suspected the move was made to spite Colin and prove her loyalty to Vincent, but the text he received from Rafael confirmed that Deidra was still not ready to settle down. Apparently, she had walked into Rafael's bedroom wet from a shower and wrapped only in a towel. She wanted to ask for his support in the arena, but the conversation could have waited until she'd put on some clothes.

As far as Colin was concerned, I had not seen nor heard from him since the rec room incident, apart from his apology call a few hours afterward. Despite his joke about the yoga ball trying to join the battle, I could tell he was hurting. Not only from the wounds he'd received at the hands of his maniacal brother, but from his wounded heart. He also apologized for the incident in his foyer, but his need to recount every detail of that experience was unnecessary. Somehow, we managed never to pass in the hall or take the elevator together, and I concluded he and Vincent had worked that out via text messages.

As I pounded down three more aspirin, Amelia and Griffin came by.

"Hey, Reese. How are you feeling today?" Amelia asked as she glanced at the bottle of pain meds on the kitchen counter.

"I'd love to get rid of this infernal headache, but as far as my battle skills, I just hope to keep my limbs intact."

"Ew." Griffin grimaced as she crouched to pet the dogs. "Vincent won't let Deidra hurt you that bad. He'll make sure she fights fair."

Amelia wrinkled her forehead, making me think she didn't believe Deidra would fight fair. "Adam booked the underground arena for a private event. That should keep the riff-raff out, but news of the fight has spread, so be prepared for a crowd."

Ugh.

I nodded as I put away the aspirin bottle. "What should I wear? Just my regular training gear?"

"No way," Griffin said as she popped up to join us. "Mother and I are here to take you to our favorite sporting goods store. We're going to make you look bad to the bone." She grinned at her mom, which earned her a pat on the shoulder.

"Simmer down, Griffin. Reese needs to choose how she wants to present herself."

I smiled at Griffin. "I'm thinking something with a superhero vibe. Can you help me with that?"

Griffin pumped her fist in the air. "Totally!"

I spent the morning seeking out my badass battle gear, something in spandex that accommodated wings. Griffin wanted red, blue and gold, the colors of Wonder Woman, but I went with black on black in honor of my favorite Marvel superhero, Black Widow. Griffin agreed enthusiastically on the compromise, and when we returned home, she plaited my hair into a pair of fishtail braids.

I arrived at the arena in the company of Vincent, Amelia, and Jonathan, although half the city's gollums showed up for the fight, with a handful of demons and humans making up the rest of the spectators. Vincent asked Colin to stay home, which sucked, but it was what it was.

"Don't think about the audience, Reese," Vincent said as he crouched in front of me as I sat in my corner. "It's just you and Deidra out there. And don't underestimate her ability to play dirty, especially if you start besting her."