I didn’t wait for her to gloat. I didn’t stand there letting Celeste’s smile sink its claws deeper into the peace I had tried so hard to build.

As soon as she dropped her hands and told me that we would meet again, that she was not yet done with me, I met her gaze with steady calm.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I said quietly, my tone even and certain.

For a moment, something flickered in her eyes, a spark of irritation that she quickly masked with a smile. “We’ll see about that, ...