Two days passed before Elias felt up to traveling. The lancing pain in his head was a beast only slayed by copious amounts of medication, which meant a longer stay in the hospital so the doctors could deliver the goods. He didn’t appreciate or enjoy the setback, although it had given him time to consider his change of heart. The intense desire to be away from all reminders of a past he did not remember had shifted into grudging acceptance that he could not manage his recovery without help. Something about Sander’s silent vigilance had struck a chord in him and, while he wasn’t of the mind to hug it out or allow himself to completely lower his guard, Elias was willing to at least see what waited back in the place he’d once called home.

Wariness persisted as they departed the hospital and boarded a private helicopter. Nothing about the city below looked familiar as the bird swooped away from the city center, and the long shoreline stretching into the sunrise sparked no particular pangs of love for his homeland.

It disturbed him how detached he was to everything. He experienced no sadness, no joy, no exuberance. Only apathy. Even the looming sight of Pallan Island did not stir him. Sander had explained that he’d grown up there, had spent the majority of his formative years running along the beach, exploring dungeons, and learning the topography of the rugged terrain. Forests sprouted from a landscape he could only think of as challenging. Cliffs, small mountains, and jagged rock formations were offset by little valleys and pastures where wild things roamed.

His first glimpse of Kallaster Castle, the sprawling, medieval fortress located on a cliffside, should have prompted some kind of reaction.

And it did. Just not the one he was hoping for.

The turrets, high walls, and sprawling compound were a shocking, impressive sight. It was just not one he remembered. Elias almost felt like a tourist as he disembarked the helicopter with Sander’s help and transferred to a waiting limousine. The short ride to the gates passed in silence. It wasn’t until the limousine was inside the bailey, approaching the front entrance to the castle, that Sander spoke.

“We’re going straight inside and up to your apartment. Do you think you can do a few flights of stairs?”

“I’ll be fine,” Elias said. He wasn’t sure he was up to the task, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

As they climbed out of the vehicles and headed to the broad front doors, Elias noticed that there wasn’t another person to be seen barring the guards in the limousine. There had been two guards at the gate, but otherwise the front of the castle looked abandoned.

Was that the way it was supposed to be? And why did he have the feeling that something seemed off? He faltered on the steps as he tried to grasp what he hoped was a returning memory. It meant something that he thought there should be guards at the door.

“You all right?” Sander asked as he set a steadying hand on Elias’s elbow.

“Are there usually guards at the doors?” Elias found his balance and continued into the foyer of the castle. He waited for a poignant sense of nostalgia or familiarity to hit.

Something.

Anything.

“Yes, there are. Did you remember something?” Sander asked.

“No. I don’t think so. It just seems like there should be guards at the doors.” Elias set aside his idea that memories were trying to surface and scanned the high ceiling and the large halls on either side of the foyer. There were stairs straight ahead and more hallways snaking away deeper into the fortress. The stone walls, stone floor, and arching wooden beams set high into the ceiling gave the castle a medieval feel.

Elias rubbed his forehead. Once again, he was puzzled by the sheer lack of people. A place this enormous surely required employees.

“I think that’s a good sign. Because there are usually two guards stationed there,” Sander said. “Your room is upstairs.”

Elias crossed the foyer. The more he moved, the more his body protested. He kept an eye on the hallways and great rooms as he began to climb, expecting at any moment to see other people appear. But all was silent as he struggled to make it to the second landing. His feet felt leaden and a killer headache pounded behind his eyes. He realized how ridiculous it would have been for him to have left the hospital of his own accord, much less live by himself so soon after the accident.

The second floor was a maze of halls and doors, all of which Elias ignored in favor of putting one foot in front of the other. He wasn’t sure how much farther he would make it and hoped his room wasn’t on a higher floor.

He didn’t protest when Sander suddenly looped an arm around his back and guided him toward the second staircase. Only with Sander’s help did he make it to the third level. His feet were dragging, his vision swimming in and out of focus. He couldn’t concentrate on anything except the long hall ahead.

A door stood open halfway down on the right.

Elias entered the room with Sander bearing more and more of his weight. They crossed the large suite to an equally large bed, where he gratefully collapsed. He allowed Sander to straighten out his limbs on the mattress and arrange a pillow beneath his head.

“Do you feel sick?” Sander asked.

Elias closed his eyes and wondered how Sander knew. “Yes.”

“I’ll put a trash can next to your bed. If you can’t make it to your bathroom, just throw up in there.”

“There’s a bathroom in here?”

“Yes. Across the room on the left. There’s also an antechamber where you work on your maps and other things.”

Elias heard a shuffle and the sound of a can being placed next to the bed.

“Nothing is familiar,” Elias said.

“Well, you can hardly see and can hardly move. Give yourself some time to actually examine your room when you feel better. I’m going to let you sleep. If you need me, just say my name. I’ll be right outside your door.”

Elias attempted to shape a reply. All that came out was a nonsensical garble of syllables.

Before he could puke, darkness rose up to swallow him whole.