The Citadel's common room was quiet, the kind of quiet that comes after too much noise. The soft, ambient glow of the walls felt heavy. They'd gotten Lira and Midas to safety, but the win felt hollow. The real missing piece was still out there.
Lucian sat with his head in his hands, staring at the floor. The immense focus of using his Conceptual Sovereignty had left him mentally drained, and now the older, deeper worry was creeping back in. Lucy.
"We've scanned every known database," Reia said, breaking the silence. She leaned against a console, her arms crossed. "There's no trace. It's like she vanished from the universe the day she went after that lead on Eron."
"We know who took her," Marc grunted, his voice a low rumble. "Eron. We find him, we find her."
"But we don't know where he is either," Evelyn pointed out softly. "He's a ghost."
