Page 152 of To Catch A Rogue

He did have someone inside the diplomat’s house.

A syringe came into view, the tip of it glistening. "I would tell you this will be painless, but I'd be lying. You know what Black Vein can do."

He'd wielded it himself, watching his fellowdhampir, Zero's, capillaries burst one by one until her heart finally gave out from the shock of it.

A chill ran down Obsidian's spine and he fought to move, but the hemlock had temporarily paralyzed him.

He could barely even grind his teeth together to break the false tooth Gemma had fitted him with. The glass ampoule was covered in a thin skin of rubber, but he couldn't move.

Ava’s antidote hadn’t been tested.

Not in the field.

But Gemma wouldn't allow him to set this in motion without taking precautions.

His heart raced.

"Stop!" Gemma came flying down the hallway, her red skirts streaming behind her like the sails on a ship.

Balfour's grip on his hair eased, and Obsidian knew he was weighing the odds of ignoring her.

"By order of the Captain of the Imperial Ravens, stop!" Gemma waved a piece of parchment in her hand.

Obsidian could almost feel his fingers twitching as sensation began to rush back into his frozen body.

Nearly there.

Just a few seconds more.... He bit down steadily, and felt something pop between his teeth. A froth of serum exploded through his mouth, tasting utterly vile, and he swallowed.

"Curse that meddling bitch." Balfour looked down at him. "You realize I cannot afford to allow you to speak of this."

And then he slid the syringe into Obsidian's arm and injected its entire contents into him.

Chapter 29

"This man admitted to ordering the assassination of Sergey Grigoriev," Gemma said, staring into the tsarina's cold, expressionless face as they were all dragged into the ballroom by the Imperial Ravens

Her heart raced, and she could barely control her breathing. The second Balfour injected Obsidian with Black Vein, she’d been so certain she’d lost him.

She still might lose him.

He must have swallowed Ava’s antidote before Balfour attacked, and while bloodied froth burst on his lips and black veins began to run beneath his skin, he hadn’t died.

The black in his veins had begun to subside after thirty seconds. His heart pounded fast enough to shatter his ribs, but then the Ravens were there and both Gemma and Balfour were apprehended as persons of interest to the tsarina.

She’d been forced to leave her heart, her love, with Byrnes, who’d assured her he’d make sure Obsidian survived. Ingrid and Barrons had joined her.

"She's lying," Balfour said, kneeling with his head bowed. "They're English agents here to ruin the succession. They murdered Sergey. I have proof."

Focus.

They couldn’t afford to lose this chance.

Obsidian had played his part and she had to have faith in Ava’s medical knowledge. It was time to do her bit. Ingrid squeezed her hand, as if sensing Gemma’s scattered thoughts.

"Do you?" Barrons gave his old nemesis a tight smile. "Well so, it seems, do we. Lady Hollis? Would you care to do the honors?"

"We heard everything." Gemma plucked the small device from her pocket with a shuddering breath. "Obsidian was wearing a listening device when he entered Vladimir Feodorevna's study. Vladimir admitted to plotting to assassinate the Prince of Tsaritsyn…."