It was worse than torture, having to stand there and watch and know that I could do nothing to save him. In that moment, my own fate mattered very little. What mattered was that Aldair seemed intent on killing the man I loved. And all I could do was watch as the breath was slowly being crushed out of him.
“Do something!” I hissed at Zahrias, but he merely shook his head.
“I am sorry, Jessica,” he murmured. “This is between the two of them. No matter what my personal feelings might be, I can do nothing that would interfere with their combat.”
I hadn’t expected anything else, really, but even so, Zahrias’ words only added to the crushing sensation of despair that seemed to overtake me then, smothering my hopes just as surely as Aldair was smothering Jace. A quick glance around the ring of
