[Sabriel feels some tension deep inside of her ease, a worry she'd shoved deep down and tried to avoid thinking about suddenly vanishing. She exhales.]

From my own experience, when we're returned to our worlds, we don't remember this one- and we're returned at the exact moment we left.

[But Lirael's words give her pause.]

How many years, exactly? Father- his duties took up much of his time, but he loved me, and I cannot imagine him ignoring any of his children.