Holly gripped the arms of her seat. 'A couple of years ago? How long have we been gone?'
Foaly snapped his fingers. 'Oh, uh, yeah. I wasn't supposed to just blurt it out. Sorry. I mean it's not serious, like a thousand years or anything.'
'How long, Foaly?' demanded Holly.
The centaur thought about it for a moment. 'OK. You've been gone for nearly three years.'
Qwan reached over and slapped Artemis's shoulder. 'Three years! Nice going, Mud Boy. You must have one hell of a brain to get us that close. I wasn't expecting to see this side of the century.'
Artemis was stunned. Three years! His parents hadn't seen him for three years. What torture had he put them through? How could he ever make up for it?

The Lost Colony, Chapter 16