Page 51 of You Only Love Twice
"There's no one here but you and me."
"Aye. And when Dr. Richter puts you under? You ever wonder what exactly he pulls out of your head? Or what he puts in there?"
Obsidian froze.
"Because I do." Silas stabbed his temple. "Sometimes I wonder if I can even trust meself. I ain’t havin' this conversation, not even with you, brother. I'm due for reconditionin' in a week, and I don't want to inadvertently betray either of us to Ghost." He clapped Obsidian on the shoulder, squeezed hard. "I'll mention the Malloryn element to Ghost. But it wouldn't hurt to keep taking a tilt at the tower. I'll see you tomorrow night."
"Aye."Obsidian stared out across the expanse of rooftops as Silas patted him on the back and vanished. He needed to return to Mably House before Gemma woke. She'd fallen into a stupor minutes after she drank the drugged cup of blud-wein he'd given her tonight, but he couldn't trust she'd still be under.
You ever wonder what exactly he pulls out of your head? Or what he puts in there?
A shiver ran down his spine as he pushed to his feet.
Because if Silas was right, then could he trust himself?
* * *
"Didyou discover what he's up to?" Ghost asked as Silas hauled himself up into the steam hack.
He slumped on the seat and stared at the leader of thedhampir.
"Obsidian thinks tryin' to break into the Tower is a barmy idea," Silas replied, scratching at his jaw. Curse Obsidian. He had to give Ghost something. "Mentioned Malloryn's weddin' instead, maybe takin' a crack at the queen then."
"That's not what I was asking about," Ghost chided, tugging on his leather gloves.
Silas flushed with cold. Betray Obsidian to this bastard? Or protect the one last brother he truly had?
Are you sure Richter's not going to pull it out of your head later anyway? You're screwed, mate, either way.
Silas stared out the window. It was one thing to have his head on the chopping block, but to deliberately take this step felt like choosing sides. And he knew what Ghost had ordered done to Zero and Omega. There weren't no blood between them. There never truly had been.
But Obsidian. They were the only two originals left with any sense of bond.
Could he betray his brother to save his own skin?
"Why is he spending so much time at Mably House?" Ghost mused, stretching one arm across the back of his seat as the hack's boilers started hissing and it pulled away from the curb. "My trainee didn't dare get any closer to the house, but he said Obsidian's tracking beacon has been there for days. He's up to something."
And Ghost was clearly having Obsidian watched for his own reasons.
Him or you. Make your choice. Silas bowed his head and reached into his pocket for the small object.
"He was toyin' with this when I walked in." He flicked it toward Ghost, who snatched it out of the air. "I slipped it out his pocket when I left."
Ghost looked up sharply when he saw what it was. "A button. A lady's button."
"I think there's a reason no one can get near Gemma Townsend. And it's got little to do withherskills."
* * *
Gemma laystill for almost an hour after Obsidian vanished.
Then she cracked one eye open, the taste of laudanum in her mouth.
It was almost insulting that he thought she wouldn't have tasted the laudanum-hemlock mix. The second she'd felt the familiar heaviness sweep through her veins, she'd made the quick decision to allow her body to relax into a light slumber, wondering what he was up to.
The last thing she'd been aware of was Obsidian laying her down upon the marble slab and chaining her to it. She was almost certain he'd brushed a piece of hair off his face, then he'd sighed under his breath. "Time to get to work."
Swinging her legs off the marble slab, Gemma eyed the chain around her ankle with a glare. Time to remove this cursed thing. She didn't know what he was up to, but there could be only one good reason to try and drug her.
