One of my pets (Aquilus) was swallowed by the rift. I searched for his name and it said his owner was the Rift NPC. However, it still counts him as a taken slot in my party even though I don't have him anymore. Will this slot ever be restored, or will I just always have an extra slot I can't use?

You will get your pet back in a few days :)

Ahh thank you! <3

(bumping this, because I also had a pet disappear and was wondering the same thing!)