Just as Elion stepped toward the door with Ophelia and Esmeralda at his sides, a group of five men shifted from near the entrance and blocked their path.
They were poorly dressed and rough around the edges. Their eyes slid lustfully over the two women, open and shamelessly. One of them let out a low whistle as he eyed the two women up and down.
"Well, well," the largest of them said, cracking his knuckles. "Hey, kid, how about you leave the ladies with us?"
The others snickered, all of them stepping wider to cut off any easy escape.
"You may be good-looking," another added mockingly, "but they're obviously more than what you can handle. Let your big brothers have this one. We'll let you walk away with all your limbs intact."
The laughter grew louder.
Elion didn't react immediately. He simply looked them over, his gaze calm and measuring. His eyes moved quickly from one to the next, assessing their posture.
