I raised my sword, and Yanric jumped off my shoulder and into the air where he spread his wings, ready for an attack.
The Grim appeared sad, frowning at me. “If it were allowed, I would. But a blood payment cannot bring a physical body back from the land of souls. And it cannot transfer someone from the Realm of Rebirth.”
Desperation filled my chest, sitting so heavily on me that I fell to my knees. “Please. Do something. Give me something! I can’t stand not knowing if he’s hurt or if he will ever come back. I study all day and night trying to find a way to bring him home. It consumes me!” I cried.
The Grim stared at me for a full minute and then looked over his shoulder as if to make sure no one was there. Walking overto the rock, he set down his sword and grabbed his sickle. In two strides, he’d moved over to a small flat rock on the ground, one that looked worn.
“You have only a few minutes,” he said, and then slammed the staff of his sickle down on the rock.
I yelped as something tugged at my navel again and I was transported elsewhere. One second, I was standing in the meadow, and the next…
“Ariyon!” His name was a mixture of a garbled cry and a scream.
I was standing in a jail cell of some sort, and Ariyon was crumpled in the corner, lying on a mat. His bottom lip was split, he sported a black eye, and his arms were littered with bruises. He looked different, toughened, the muscles in his arms and back bigger somehow. But he was alive! Thank the Light, he was alive.
He was sleeping deeply, his chest rising and falling, so I stumbled forward, falling to my knees before him.
“Ariyon?” I reached out and shook him. Though my body was made of the flickering translucent spirit form, I still felt him. Somehow, my body felt fully materialized here. His warm skin under my fingertips caused a whimper to form in my throat. He shook awake at my touch.
His eyes flew open, and he put his fists up as if to fight me.
When his gaze landed on my face, his hands relaxed, and his mouth dropped open. But it only took him a moment to process it, as he lunged forward, pulled me to him, crushing me to his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Fallon.” My name was like a love letter on his lips. One word and it was filled with so much affection, reverence, and relief.
“Are you okay?” He pulled back and ran his gaze over my body.
I barked out a laugh. “Me? Ariyon, areyouokay? We’ve been so worried. I screwed up. I switched our powers and accidentally brought your body down here. I didn’t know how to save you, and now you’re stuck here, and Hayes, Ayden, and Eden have been meeting me in the library to try to find a way to get you back, and—”
He leaned up and pressed his lips to mine, a zap of heat rushing through my body. When he pulled back, his eyes were glittering silver. “You saved my life,” he said firmly.
I swallowed hard. “Marissa killed you because—”
“You saved my life, Fallon,” he said again. “Thank you.”
I felt a sobbing breakdown in my future but held it together for Ariyon. I didn’t know how much time we had left together, and I wouldn’t waste it.
“We don’t have much time. I just came down here with Solana.”
He gasped, and I put a hand on his chest to assure him.
“She’s okay. I fought the Grim for her.”
I pulled my hands up to show him the marks on the backs. His marks.
He swallowed hard and nodded, his body sagging in relief as he looked up at the ceiling as if sending a silent prayer to the Light.
“How do I get you out of here?” I asked, turning to look past the cell door behind me. But there was nothing to see, just a long hallway.
Ariyon blew out a deep breath. “I have no idea. Does Master Hart?”
I tried not to let desperation fill me at his words but shook my head. “He’s hard to work with because Marissa traumatized him, and he can barely talk to me.”
Ariyon nodded in understanding. “Fallon, because I have your powers, I’ve been given the opportunity to be…rebirthed. As a Nightling.”
Even though I already knew all this information, I still winced. “I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t help the tears that lined my eyes.
He reached out and cupped my face. “It’s okay. You can undo it, right? Whatever you switched, you can switch us back?”
