Lucien pov

The first thing the Circle took was my voice. Not the sound of it. But it took the weight behind it. The part that made others listen without question. When I spoke, nothing answered. No land. No pull. No presence shifting around me.

I stood alone.

No ground beneath my feet. No sky above. No pack on my back. The bond I had carried for years—tight, constant, alive—was gone. Not cut violently. Simply removed, like something that no longer belonged to me.

I clenched my ...