“You bet your ass, I did,” I said with a defiant chin tilt. “I’m not a kid anymore, Zeus Garro. And with or without you, this is who I am and I’m in this world to stay.” “Then it’ll fuckin’ well be with me,” he growled, his smile so quickly replaced with a scowl that I lost balance and leaned toward him. “Hear this, little girl, you got what you wanted, yer guardian monster is back but this time, he’s teachin’ ya how to keep the monsters at bay yourself so when the time comes that you no longer need me, you’ll be good.”
