Eros hadn't learned that Zeph's true name, but he didn;t press the matter. The man seemed to be keeping that little fact a secret. He put it down to protection of the trial and didn't think much of it at the time. Zeph was an Alarian soldier like himself, though they had never met before today. He had told Eros that he had been on his trial now for some 46 years now. He was close to completion and had helped many Alarians like himself in his time in this realm. He explained that though it was not spoken about, there was no reason why they couldn't help each other.

Eros however didn't reveal that he was a royal, not wanting any special treatment from his fellow soldier. They had spoken only briefly as time was of the essence.

Eros now sat waiting outside the tavern for the crowd to leave. Zeph remained inside as their eyes and ears. He was to see which man was to purchase Elaina. They planned to follow her and get her out of the situation before he could do anything to her. Eros was truly thankful for the help, he was a little too on edge to be inside right at this moment.

He could hear the roar and cheers of commotion from within. His back was firmly planted against the tavern wall, his hand pocking at the sand on the ground. His idea had been better, but they didn't have enough money. Already the bidding had gone well over what they both had on their person.

Noise in the form of cheers and laughter erupted from within only making him tense. Was it time? Had she been purchased? Just thinking the words was making his stomach turn. Hearing the wooden swing doors he vaulted upright and hoisted himself up onto the roof of the establishment, he didn't want to be seen. Keeping low we watched as a series of men and women in hooded cloaks, likely the purchased goods for the night, left the building and headed around the back.

Zeph appeared to be a good actor, mingling well with the crowd as people continued to disperse and leave the area. The Alarian glanced for a moment up at Eros's hidden from the back to the man who was rounding a corner and headed to the back of the establishment. Eros took that as his sign and continued to track the man and the cloaked woman with him. The man appeared to be drunk and stumbling, relying on the women to practically carry him as they walked.

They entered a room that was well hidden, the door had no handle on the outside and only a single window to the side. If one didn't know any better it just looked like the back of the tavern and not a room of its own. As they entered the room he had easily slipped from the shadows of the roof to the ground, catching the handless door before it could fully close.

Making sure no one else was around he slipped through the door ready to attack the male. Much to his surprise Elaina stood with her hands crossed over her chest, a stern look on her face, with the man unconcous behind her. The man was splade out on the bed with a happy expression on his face.

"I knew you would do this." She shook her head at him.

He blinked up at her in shock, then at the man behind her.

"As you can see I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She stated shifting her weight to one leg and tilting her head to the side.

"I can see that... did you drug him?" She must have, so he hadn't been drunk, the drug had already been taking effect before they reached the room. He took a step closer curious but she blocked his path.

"You need to leave, now." Her tone was stern.

Taken aback, he frowned unable to make sense of this. "Come with me." He pleaded.

"Erosvent, I barely know you. I met you years ago, for one night. Why would I go with you? I can take care of myself!" She repeated.

"Your lying, you're covered in bruises. Is it Daniel?" He tried in protest.

She cringed her head turning slightly away. "That has nothing to do with you."

"But-"

"Eros, please. You have to leave, he'll be here any minute now." Her strong demeanour faded and he could see fear in her gaze.

"Fine... I won't be far, just call out if you need me." He huffed slightly frustrated with the situation, but he wouldn't take her against her will. Regrefefully he left, leaving her in the room with the sleeping man.

Outside Zeph gave him a confused look, seeing him exit without the women wasn't part of the plan. He shook his head before motioning to the tree line behind the complex. They could speak freely there.

"What happened?" Zeph asked as they reached the dense foliage.

"The ring leader has something over her, she won't come. She mentioned to me before that he has something that means a lot to her, that she can't cross him for fear of losing it." Eros explained.

Zeph let out a heavy sigh. "What now?"

"I'm gonna stick around, he's coming to see her soon. If I can get my hands on him I can find out what he has on her and where it is. I'll free her." He was determined to see this night through.

"What do you mean, how?" Zeph asked.

"I'll explain later, you help the other girls. Regardless, we are shutting this foul place down tonight." The men nodded at each other before heading back and parting ways, headed in different directions.

Eros circled back to the little room that Elaina was in. He perched himself outside the window for an easier vanish point. The window itself was painted black so no one could see in, all he needed from it was a quick entrance, he could hear perfectly well what was going on inside.

Elaina appeared to be seated on the bed beside the sleeping man as another was rummaging through the belongings. He knew that the second man was Daniel when he let out a frustrated groan. "This idiot used all his cash on you!"

"At least you got that then," Elaina added.

"I should have let one of the others win you!" He spat.

Eros heard the bed creak had he just sat down? Closing his eyes he focused on the heartbeats. Following the rhythm of the little organs circulating blood through their bodies, until he had a clear image of the location of everyone in the room.

"Are you going to do as I say tonight?" Daniel suddenly asked, his voice had changed, now slightly softer as he spoke to her.

Eros could see Elaina's heart rate increase as fear filled her.

"I- I thought we wanted to keep me ready for someone in case the sleeping draft didn't work." She stuttered. "There's still more auctions tonight."

Daniel let out a manic laugh. "Your mouth still works perfectly fine!"

"Here?" Her tone was quiet as she forced the words out.

"More exciting with someone else in the room." He added in a cocky tone. "Hurry up, on your knees like the good little girl you are."

Eros heard her gasp, she'd been yanked from her sitting potion to the ground. The heels she was wearing not helping her footing and she landed quite heavily in front of Daniel.

Eros heard the sound of a zipper and felt bile rise in his throat. His stomach knotting and twisting, he wouldn't, surely not?

"Please Daniel, I don-"

The loud sound of skin impacting skin echoed from the room causing Eros to jolt on the spot. Daniel had slapped her across the face, the impact hard enough to split her lip. The scent of her blood invaded his being, he bit his bottom lip willing himself to stay calm. But as Daniel took a fist full of Elaina's hair and yanked her forward toward his manhood, he saw red.

Unable to stay still any longer and witness such a hayness act he vaulted into action. Smashing through the window, the glass exploded everywhere. Daniel fumbled with his pants as he attempted to stand ready to fight back, but the shock of the surprise entrance only had him falling backward onto the bed below.

Erosvent loomed over him, his red eyes glaring down at the foul excuse for a human being. His clawed hand reached forward and Daniels's eyes widened in fear. Eros could only guess what he looked like, a raged beast ready to feast on his pry.

Elaina was sobbing behind him cupping her face and scooting herself back to press her back against a wall. The intoxicating smell of her blood was only stronger now that he was in the room. Why did she smell so good?

"You can't kill him." She pleaded.

"I know. Not until I have the information on what he has on you and how to find it." His voice was deeper than usual.

"You won't get anything out of me! If I don't report in they'll kill him!" Daniel was slightly yelling the words showing his fear.

Erosvent smirked as the smell of urine wafted up to his nose. This human was such a man-child, he spoke a big game but he had no courage. "Him, you say. You're already giving up information." He chuckled. "And I haven't even begun."

"I won't tell!" Daniel sounded more and more childish with each passing minute.

He'd never tried to use his abilities on a living person before. Objects were much easier to deal with and shift through the residual energies to find what he was looking for.

"Elaina a name?" He tried his best not to make it sound like a demand, but he needed a connection in order to find what they were looking for.

"D-Don't you dare!" Daniel warned.

"Can you really save him? Can you find my brother?" She still sounded scared, but there was something else behind her voice, a hint of longing, of hope.

"If I have his name I can see what this man did with him." He decided to tell her the truth. His head closely turned to face her. His appearance was anything but human as his anger was at boiling point but he remained in control. "I'm not human."

"I know, I've known all along." She met his gaze, her hands were clenched in her sheer gown near her heart. "His name is Gilly."

Eros's head snapped back to Daniel, that was all he needed. He reached forward as Daniel attempted to maneuver out of his hold. But he was too fast, snatching the human's collar he flung him back onto the bed, pinning him down with a single hand encasing his neck. He didn't give Daniel a chance to react or make a sound as he dove into the being's mind using Gilly as a medium.

Flashes of broken images flooded in, it was harder to find what he was looking for with the human's mind so full of fear. He needed to work quickly to shift through past memories to find what he needed, but he had never trained for this. Already he was draining his essence at an alarming rate to keep the connection secure.

Then, he found it. But it wasn't what he had hoped for.

Elaina watched on as Eros appeared to be deep in thought, Daniel had stopped squirming under his touch and began drooling as his eyes were wide and unmoving.

"I know where he is." Eros couldn't turn to look at her, his head sagged as his eyes closed in anguish.

"Where? Take me to him!" She was on her feet and watching the scene with wide eyes.

"He's not here anymore." Erosvent turned his head away as she walked closer.

"What do you mean?" Her bottom lip trembled as though she already knew the answer. "Please no." She whispered, her voice breaking. 

Eros could still see the images. A younger Elaina and her brother had been kidnapped, their parents were killed in a home invasion. Daniel having been the perpetrator. The siblings had fought to stay together but had been separated, girls were trained for the pleasures of men while the boys were chore boys. Elaina was told that if she behaved herself then Gilly would be given food and water. If she was a bad girl, he would be forced to go without and starve to death. She followed along with every single one of Daniel's orders making sure that her brother didn't go without a single day.

However unknown to her, the day they had been separated, Gilly had bitten Daniel pretty badly, tearing over a piece of the man's leg with his teeth. Daniel refused to look after the brat, and none of the other traffickers wanted him due to his outbursts of violence and disobedience. So Daniel took the boy back to his childhood home claiming that Elaina was waiting there for them. The house was in ruins and Gilly had raced ahead to search for his sister. Daniel stuck the boy from behind and proceeded to bury the boy alive in the dirt outside of the home. Gilly had woken as Daniel finished filling in the hole, the boy had tried to scream for help but his lungs quickly filled with dirt and he had died.

"Why... Why did I endure all this..." She fell to her knees as tears streaked down her face. Her whole life had been a lie.