"I have to be," he said darkly, eying Marius with a deep suspicion now. "You'll remember yourself soon enough." Or else be ruined by him and then leave. Rats may have been social vermin, but he was a solitary man for his own safety. Who did he think he was kidding? It had been so reckless, letting someone else in, only to realize what his future was.

Rat laughed at him, angry and barking. "It's all such a joke, you and me. Who are we trying to fool? A gentleman, a veritable aristocrat, and who am I?" Vermin. Garbage. Someone who'd seen the worst of the world and done the worst.

"Grey would have left. Eventually."