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No!
Right as he hits the ground, Rys grabs me. How did he know I was going to run for Jim? Easy. Because the last time something like that happened, I did the same exact thing.
“Not yet, Leannán,” he murmurs in my ear. “He made this sacrifice for you. Let him.”
It’s harder than I ever would’ve guessed, especially when Grimly shakes his head, coming out of it way before Jim. He never fell. He barely moved. One second, he’s unmoving, the next his eyes are open and he’s rubbing his hands together.
Jim’s still sprawled on the ground.
“What’s the matter with him?” I demand.
Grimly grins cheekily. “His might take a bit longer.”
It’s at least another few minutes before Jim’s eyes flutter open. They look dazed. Fuzzy. Lost. He sits up slowly, looking around the clearing. He doesn’t seem to regard any of the rest of us, but when his gaze lands on me, I see only confusion.
And I know in an instant that Jim—my Jimmy—is gone. And, unlike his stint inside of Samradh, there’s no getting him back.
How do I know? No clue. But I feel it deep in my gut.
It only gets worse when Rys lets go of me and I stand there, frozen, staring back at Jim.
He lifts his hand, ready to rustle his hair. It’s a nervous habit of Jim’s, one I’ve seen him do a million times. But, before he does, he realizes that he’s holding a crystal.
“What’s this? Oh. That’s right. The crystal. I… I guess it worked.”
Wait—
He remembers?
Maybe… maybe it’s okay.
Please, let it be okay.
Grimly swoops in, plucking it from Jim’s fingers. “That’s mine, boyo. Appreciate it.”
“Uh. Sure.”
Nine calls out to Grimly, “And ours?”
Grimly’s black eyes gleam. With a flick of his fingers, he sends his crystal flying toward me. “For you, girly. This memory… it more than covers my bargain with the human. I’d say it covers yours, too.”
From behind me, I hear the familiar sound of a sword being drawn. And, almost dully, I have to wonder what my life has become that, a sound like that, has become familiar to me.
“Get out of here,” commands Rys. “You played your games, gnome. You have your prize. Now be gone.”
Grimly doesn’t even wait around for another threat. Bowing to me, so mocking that I almost want to grab Rys’s sword to skewer him myself, Grimly dashes off into the trees, probably in search of a fairy circle or something.
Me, I’m too busy staring at Jim, willing him to say something to me, only to feel my stomach drop all the way to my boots when he snaps his fingers and shakes his finger at me.
“Hey. Do I know you? Wait. Yeah. You’re—”
I can’t risk it. “Elle,” I cut in quickly. “I go by Elle now.”
“Elle. We went to school together. I remember.” He moves his hand, pointing at my hair. “Your hair… that’s pretty cool. I like the color. Teal, right?”
A lump forms in my throat.
Don’t cry, Hel. Don’t cry.
