Page 50 of Priest

Caspian shook his head. “Not at this point, but who knows what could happen with concentration and training.”

He looked over at Priest. His Demon was staring at him, just as shocked. Oliver knew a lot of supernaturals in passing, thanks to his shop, but it was easy to tell that Azriel was by far the strongest. Heradiatedwith power, casting out an aura that could either set you completely at ease or make your skin crawl with agitation, depending on his mood.

“And because of the co-mingling of species,” Caspian continued, his attention once more on his computer, “we won’t know until your powers fully manifest what they are.”

“Well, he can teleport—at least short distances,” Priest offered.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Oliver rolled his eyes. “But I didn’t do that on purpose. I have no idea how I did it. If you weren’t so sure it happened, I’d say you imagined it.”

“Oh, it definitely happened,” Priest assured him, striding across the lab. “And he has gut feelings that are usually right, including that his friend was still alive before we even realized he’d been taken.”

His face began to heat for some reason, like Priest was bragging about him instead of just listing off what they knew so far.

Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Priest gave him a quick squeeze. “And then Oliver could feel Poe when he was where Poe had been taken, like a hook drawing him to wherever he is.”

Caspian was typing quickly and nodding along as Priest recited the facts. “Anything else?”

Priest looked at him expectantly, but Oliver shook his head. “Not that we know of.”

“We’ll start there, then.”

“This isn’t working,” Oliver said, shoving at the map so that it slid halfway across the table, the top half of the continent hanging precariously over the edge. He squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his fist down twice and then stood there, shoulders hunched, head lowered, palms pressed onto the tabletop.

Whatever abilities he’d tapped into outside of the bookshop must have been a onetime thing because he’d been trying for a week, and nothing had happened. Occasionally he thought he could detect the faintest hum or buzzing, but then it would disappear just as quickly, and he was now convinced he’d been imagining it. He was a fraud. He was the reason they were never gonna find Poe. He was?—

Strong arms wrapped around him from behind.

“It’s not useless, and you’re not powerless. A month ago, you didn’t even know about this side of you.” Priest’s words were low, said right into his ear and calming. Or maybe that was his presence. Just having him near was enough to dial back his ire most days. And the longer they spent holed up with the Dragons, the faster it happened and the easier it seemed to be.

“What if they’re hurting him?” he whispered into the quiet of Caspian’s lab.

The Dragon had disappeared hours ago, probably off canoodling with one or more of his mates. Oliver was grateful Priest was the only one seeing him lose his cool and finally voicing the concern he’d had ever since he’d known for sure that Poe really was alive.

“What if…” He couldn’t say it. He couldn’t finish the sentence.

Priest’s arms tightened around him. “What if he’s not alive anymore?” Priest asked delicately.

Oliver nodded, tears squeezing out behind his lids. Just the idea of a world without his best friend in it felt like a punch to the solar plexus, like he couldn’t breathe and his whole body wanted to collapse in on itself.

“Just because he was taken alive doesn’t mean he’s still… And even if he is, what are the chances they aren’t torturing him?”

Priest didn’t respond for a moment, and Oliver appreciated that. He didn’t want Priest to simply placate him, tell him everything was going to be okay and give him a pat on the head. This was real, and it was dangerous, and he needed to know what Priest actually thought.

“We think he’s still alive,” Priest said, speaking carefully, and Oliver had to wonder what kind of information he’d been receiving from his regular updates from Jeremiah and Knight. “Taking someone against their will—that’s more difficult than you might think. If all they wanted to do was kill him, they wouldn’t have bothered to take him.”

Oliver choked back a whimper, and Priest’s fingers flexed against his abs.

“Same with the lawyer’s son; they took him, blew up the building, and left the other two to die.”

“And the others?” Oliver prompted. He’d overheard part of a conversation between Priest and the rest of Alpha Team the other night. He knew there had been more attacks.

“Same with the others. One other location had a casualty as well as a missing person. They’re being very selective in who they take, which means they have some sort of plan. And they haven’t asked for ransom or to negotiate with the families or the royals.”

“But they could still be hurting them?” Oliver asked, even as that information eased a little more of the tension in his body.

“They could be,” Priest said, not sugarcoating it. “It’s very possible, though the purpose of taking multiple people just for the sake of torture doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe they’re just a bunch of psychos,” Oliver muttered.

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