"It took only a few kills for my little Milly-Fox to make a name for himself," Kolkhis explained, reaching up to run a hand through the loose hair around his face. "And they still tell stories about him. Just the threat of Mildmay the Fox was enough to get many people to fall into line. And others would come to me especially to hire him, because they wanted the job done right. But then he lost his stomach for the work, thought he could get by on his own, without me."

Her grip on his hair tightened. "You forgot I made you. You were nothing without me. Hiding behind-"

"Stop it," Mildmay said again, louder and sharper this time as he jerked away from Keeper. "Just fucking stop."