Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 10 - We Can Be Perfect Later

 "You can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm doing a comedy routine?"

"Then you've lost it, totally. It's crazy."

"Is it?"

"You don't even like me, and the feeling's mutual."

"It's not about who likes who. It's about who can work together."

"Then that's us out isn't it?"

Codi let out a sigh of exasperation and let her head fall forward against the table with a muffled thump. Her attempts at reaching out an olive branch weren't going very well. She'd been well aware from the outset that she was facing an uphill battle, but 'uphill' had very quickly become vertical. The biggest problem was that she wasn't even sure he was wrong.

Gareth looked at her from across the table and shook his head. "I don't know what you think has changed over the last couple of weeks, but I'm still far from your biggest fan. I can put my head down and ignore you – I don't want to attach myself to you with a damned lasso."

"It wasn't exactly the first thing that popped into my head either," she admitted. "But we've got to look beyond likes and dislikes. Remember what Bronagh said?"

"I was there."

"Well?"

"Well what? Why do you think we're so compatible?"

Codi swallowed a calming breath, struggling to keep her composure in the face of Gareth's obstinacy. How could she explain it in a way he would understand? It wasn't something she could quantify or put down in a text book. It was a more indefinable, instinctive sense of how he fought. She didn't do a lot of things well, but when it came to Gauntlet combat, she was a natural. When sparring she could see the little wild streak in Gareth's style that reminded her of herself.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this," she said carefully. "But we fight the same way."

He let out a derisive snort but she kept talking.

"That's what the pairings are all about! Compatibility of style, not personality." She leaned back in the chair and folder her arms. "Who else are you planning to match with, huh?"

"I..." He hesitated. "I hadn't given it that much thought."

"Oh, really? Well time isn't exactly a luxury that we have. The sooner we get paired up the sooner we can practice and the better we'll be by the time we get to the Gauntlet."

"I still don't think this is a good idea."

She seethed for a moment, and then a thought occurred to her. "You want to do the best that you can, right?"

"Obviously."

"I hate to break it to you," Codi continued. "But all the top fighters are already locked in pairs and they're not going to change. Ripple is with Chris. Cardle's paired with Joshua. Cassandra matched up with Prissa. Out of all the top fighters here, that leaves you and me."

Gareth shifted uncomfortably in his seat and she new she'd struck a nerve. His cantankerous nature meant that others had been reluctant to pair up with him, and she was acutely aware that she had the same problem. Realising his desire to win was probably the only way she would get through to him, she continued on that tack.

"Like it or not, I'm the best fighter left, and I'm offering to work with you," she said. "I know we don't see eye to eye. I know you don't like me, but I'm good at this, Gareth. You can't deny that I deserve to be here. And-" she turned her eyes skywards before forcing the words out. "You deserve to be here too."