Sander paced through Elias’s room, as restless as he’d ever been. It was late afternoon, hours past Emily’s ceremony, and he couldn’t seem to settle. The entire situation was under his skin and he didn’t know how to fix it. Elias was still passed out on the bed from an apparent stroll through the third floor of the castle.

A good thing, Sander thought. At least Elias had been curious or bored enough to explore. He didn’t hold out any hope that the young man had remembered anything—he suspected Elias would have come straight to him otherwise.

What bothered him was that Elias seemed to tire easily. Almost too easily. It looked to him like Elias had barely made it in the door from his walk before falling asleep. He was tempted to call the doctor and ask if that was normal. Should Elias be having such bad headaches and exhaustion?

“You look troubled,” Elias said in a groggy voice.

“Welcome back to the waking world.” Sander drew a chair close to the end of the bed and sat down. He perched on the edge of the cushion, too agitated to really relax and get comfortable.

There was nothing pleasant about the conversation he was about to have.

“You have a habit of sidestepping my comments,” Elias said. He sat up and reached for a bottle of water as well as his pain pills.

Sander looked on as his son dosed up. That told him something about the state of Elias’s pain.

“There’s something we need to discuss,” Sander said once Elias was done taking the medication.

“You did it again.”

“It’s about your title.”

Elias put the water bottle back on the nightstand and looped his good arm around his bent knees. “What about it?”

“There was a ceremony this morning in the throne room. We couldn’t avoid it any longer.”

“What kind of ceremony?” Elias frowned.

“Your sister Emily was officially sworn in as heir to the throne. Which means you’re not the first in line any longer. I consider it a temporary development that we’ll reverse when you get your memory back.” Sander took great care to deliver the news as neutrally as he could. He didn’t relish Elias witnessing how much the ceremony had ripped a hole in his heart.

Elias’s silence unnerved Sander. He had no idea what his son was thinking. Rather than push for answers, he waited Elias out.

“To tell you the truth, Sander, it’s a relief. I almost feel like I’m living in a dream and am waiting to wake up. The castle doesn’t seem real. I don’t recognize anything and I don’t feel a sense of coming home,” Elias said.

The words were difficult to process. Sander drew in a deep breath and counted to five.

Steady, old man.

“I suppose it would be overwhelming if you didn’t remember any of it. Castles and titles and kingdoms aren’t your everyday scenario.” Sander paused briefly. “Anyway, I’d prefer it if you remained up here on the third floor for the next week.”

“Why?”

“Because now that the news is out about your accident and Emily’s ceremony this morning, things could skew sideways at any moment and I’d like to know where you are at all times. No one else knows you’re here except a few guards, your mother and siblings, and Inari. If you go wandering around the castle at will, the secret will be out in short order.”

“I’m too cooped up here to stay that long,” Elias said.

“As far as I can tell, that’s about all you can physically handle right now.” Sander didn’t hesitate to suggest he knew that Elias had come right back to the room and crashed after his walk. The exercise had taken a toll.

Elias muttered and looked away.

“If you’re having problems, we’ll bring the doctor in from the mainland.” Sander wanted to protect Elias and keep his residence a secret a while longer, but not at the expense of his safety.

“I don’t need it yet. I’m not feeling too bad.” Elias continued to stare across the room.

Sander couldn’t help but wonder if Elias was telling him the truth.

“Will you stay up here at least for a few more days, then?” Sander stood and began pacing the room again. Before Elias could reply, Sander decided to switch tactics. He came to stand at the side of the bed.

“Don’t answer that. Instead, how would you like to get away from everything for a while?”

The speed with which Sander made things happen was dizzying. Elias was impressed despite himself. In less than two hours, Sander had secreted him away from Kallaster Castle via subterfuge and disguise. A large coat with a deep hood had protected Elias’s identity from the few people left wandering the foyer of the castle, as well as anyone watching from windows above. The same guards that had been outside his room were also in the SUV that transported them from the castle to the helipad and then across the sea to the mainland. If he’d had to guess, no more than five or six people in total were involved in the scheme. Everyone else had been given generic orders, as far as Elias could tell, and any crowds had been cleared from the exit path.

The helicopter flew a short distance beyond what Sander pointed out to be Ahtissari Castle, the family seat, and landed in a clearing adjacent to the forest. Three SUVs waited on the ground with a few people already prepared to escort them wherever they were going. Elias recognized Leander among the small group.

Everyone else besides the initial guards was unknown.

From the clearing they headed into the forest, the SUVs navigating the flat terrain with ease. Elias noted a narrow trail wove through the trees, snaking deeper into the woods. The rugged road had obviously been used many times, although nothing about the area looked familiar.

At length, the line of SUVs broke into a clearing. A rather rustic yet well-built cabin sat in the middle, big enough to house eight to ten people with ease. Or so it seemed to Elias judging by the size of the homestead.

“Anything look familiar?” Sander asked as they disembarked in front of the cabin.

“No. What is this place?” Elias climbed to the ground and pushed the hood back from his face. Everyone in the other vehicles was aware of his presence, so he didn’t feel the need to hide any longer.

“It’s a cabin my father built many, many years ago. I still spend time here when your mother is gone.” Sander led the way up the steps to the door and opened it with a key he took from his pocket.

Elias followed at a slower pace while the guards took up positions at specific points around the clearing. He noticed one younger man continually looking his way but didn’t have time to ask questions. Maybe later.

The interior of the cabin was as well maintained as the outside. A fireplace took up a good portion of one wall and all the furniture appeared new and plush. Although everything was neat and clean, the cabin still had a lived-in vibe. It seemed the kind of place one could put up their feet and relax.

Elias wondered if he’d been there before. If he’d spent time within the walls with or without Sander. He dropped his bag at the foot of a sofa and removed his outer coat.

“I don’t remember any of this but, for some reason, I feel comfortable here. More comfortable than I did at the castle,” Elias said.

Sander stripped out of his coat and snagged a skullcap off his head. He tossed both onto a tree rack near the door. “Maybe that means something. I thought we could spend some time out here alone, away from the pressure that the castle seems to generate. Leaving Kallaster wasn’t my intent, not at first, but if privacy is what you need, then I’m happy to try and provide it.”

Elias didn’t have the heart to confess that being near any of them added to the stress of memory loss. It was just Sander now, and the guards, who appeared to be out of sight if not out of mind, so he decided to see if he could tolerate that better.

“Have I been here before?” Elias asked as he examined the well-appointed kitchen. The countertops looked new and all the appliances were sparkling clean. He noted someone had supplied fresh food when he opened the refrigerator to look for a bottle of water.

“Quite a few times, yes. You and I have spent many evenings here before trips to the hinterlands or canoeing excursions.” Sander perched on the arm of a sofa. He wore typical black on black, which put Elias in mind of undercover missions and skulking around in the dark.

Was that also a memory? Why would he have thought of the clothing in that way? He grabbed a bottle of water and retreated to the kitchen counter, where he tilted into a lean.

“What’s the frown for?” Sander asked.

“Your clothes.”

“What about them?”

“It makes me think of dark nights and skulking around.” Elias looked across the countertop. He could easily see Sander in the living area. The open floor plan left much of the downstairs visibly accessible, barring a room or two off the hallway.

Sander’s expression remained neutral. “What else do you think about when you see clothing like this?”

Elias had to think about it. His frown deepened. “I don’t know.”

“Nothing comes to mind?”

“Nothing specific. Just what I said before.” Elias had another drink of water. So far, his headache had remained a dull throb rather than a deafening roar.

Sander opened his mouth as if he was about to say something else. He closed it and looked away to a window.

“What?” Elias decided not to let the lapse pass.

“It’s nothing I can talk about yet. Maybe if you start to remember things while we’re here.”

“I’d rather know now. It might jog something in my memory.”

“Except if I tell you, and you don’t regain your memory, then I might compromise other people’s safety.” Sander made eye contact again.

Elias discovered his curiosity increasing over whatever it was Sander wouldn’t say. And when he thought about that, it pleased him. Because if he was curious, that was progress, no matter how small. He hadn’t been as prone to pushing for answers back in the hospital.

“I saw Inari in the castle,” he said out of the blue.

“I heard.”

“What did she tell you?” Elias asked.

“She didn’t tell me anything. But she told your mother that you’d bumped into each other.”

“Was she upset that I wasn’t more forthcoming?”

“Chey didn’t mention anything about Inari being upset. She said that Inari seemed hopeful despite the distance you keep between you and everyone else. She’d hoped to run into you again, but took the news of our departure well, considering.”

“What did Chey think of us leaving?” Elias asked. At the moment, he found himself curious what his mother thought more than his girlfriend.

“She understands what I’m trying to do. It’s the same thing she was trying to do when she brought you one of your favorite meals. All this is just an attempt to help relax you and hopefully jog your memory.”

Elias fell silent. He drank from the bottle until it was empty. After dumping the bottle in the trash, he strolled through the ground floor, walking the hallway past stairs leading to an upper floor. A few photos on the walls drew his attention.

In one, he and Sander stood next to a canoe on the shoreline of a gently burbling river. They were dressed alike: rugged outdoor wear, with heavy jackets and thickly soled boots. What struck Elias most were the smiles they both wore. There could be no denying the happy excitement of the trip they were about to embark on.

The emotion Elias experienced then didn’t have anything to do with a memory but with regret. Once again it disturbed him that he could not attach poignancy to the image. He felt nothing at all except for regret.

After his brief tour downstairs, he returned to the living area. Sander had not moved from his spot. Elias paced to a window and looked out at the waning day. None of the guards was in sight.

“Are you planning to take us canoeing while we’re here?” Elias asked.

“I’d planned to at first. Although I have safety concerns and I’m not sure it’s the best idea with your arm in a cast. I know we can wrap it in plastic, but I wouldn’t want you to damage the injury any further if we tipped over and you hit it on a rock or something.”

Elias turned back to the room. “Safety concerns because of the people who might want to do us harm if they find out I’m compromised?”

“Yes,” Sander said. “By the way, how does your head feel?”

“It’s pounding but it’s not unbearable yet.”

“That’s another reason we might want to put off canoeing. If your head got bad while on the river—and the river does get rough in places—then we’re very limited as to what we can do or where we can go. There are no doctors or hospitals that far out in the hinterlands.”

Elias considered Sander for a length of time. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable for a change, and he wondered if he was slowly growing used to Sander’s presence.

A pressing question chased itself around his mind and he decided to put it out in the open. Elias watched Sander’s expression closely.

“I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I think it bears mentioning again. If I don’t recover my memory soon, are you going to allow me to go my own way and live my life? Away from the castle and responsibilities and everyone who holds me dear?”