Envy and the others went straight for Aera. He went to his knees and carefully pulled the blanket away, hissing at what he saw. “God...” Hadhen muttered behind him, sounding nauseous.
Every part of her was beaten and bruised. Cuts and welts were all over her, some old, some new. She lay, still and naked, her arms held above her head by chains cuffed at her wrist, her hands wrapped in blood soaked fabric. And her lifeless eyes stared into nothing. Envy bent and inspected her, trying to keep his own heart calm. So still was she that he couldn't tell if she was breathing, even when he put his ear to her chest. But, very faintly, he could hear the incredibly slow heartbeat.
“She's barely alive.” The elf whispered to the two standing beside him. “Hadhen, look around for anything to clothe her in. Russel, you're my lockpick. Get at the chains on her wrists.” As they moved to obey, Envy cupped her face in his hands, pressing his forehead to hers. “Wake up, baby girl. Come back to me. Follow my voice.”
Russel grunted. “The one wrist is broken pretty bad.” Envy glanced up and saw that he was right, her left wrist was swollen and red against the cuff.
“Get her free.” he demanded. He glanced up to watch the fight between Taris and Drugan, glaring death at his kinsman. 
There was a click and Russel sighed. “The one against the wall is all I can get, I can't see enough for the other two on her arms.” 
With a nod, Envy lowered her arms to lay them across her stomach. He lifted her carefully in his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder. But when he tried to walk through the shadow Taris had opened, he was stopped, Aera growing heavy and forcing him still. [i]A ward[/i]. He lay her back down. How? She had nothing on her. He glanced over her skin, looking for anything. Then his eyes landed on a small symbol, etched into the skin of her inner thigh in black ink. He growled and pulled out a knife.
Then, listening to Drugan and Taris, he shot his head up. “Taris!” He shouted. But the assassin ignored him or didn't hear him. He flew into a gruesome transformation and both the boys went to their knees, covering their ears as the howl ripped through the chamber. Envy covered Aera's ears with his hands and ducked his head between his arms, his heart racing. 

Admittedly shaken by the new form of Taris, Envy bent to work on Aera. “I'm sorry....” he mumbled remorsefully as he pressed the sharp tip of the blade against her skin, cutting out the tattoo. It pained him immensely to see that she didn't flinch, didn't move, made no sign that she even felt it. The blood trickled slowly from her, her heartbeat was so slow.