Gabrielle stared at him, her already pale skin blanching a deeper shade of ivory. Although his face had changed during his years on the ground, his crystal-blue eyes were still the ones she remembered.

“You really don’t remember?” she said, horrified.

Jacques studied her face for a long moment. There was something resting on the edge of his memory. Because in some way, returning to the castle… it felt like coming home. But as much as he tried to reach back into his mind, the exact memory still eluded his grasp.

“Oh, Jacques,” Gabrielle said, with tears sparkling in her eyes. “You really don’t remember.” She paused for a moment, collecting herself.

“There’s something you need to see,” she said, taking a silver key from a delicate chain at her neck. She stuck it into the chamber door and turned.

The door opened abruptly to a shallow balcony. Gabrielle swept an arm around as Jacques’ eyes drank in an entire floating city.

“Everything you see,” she said slowly, “used to be your kingdom.”