Missing Spectres after unsocketed from helmet in Hideout.

Hi, I just lost my spectres in my Hideout when removing the gems and recolouring the helmet sockets. When I put the gems back I could reanimate my AG but the Spectres are gone.

Nothing on the floor or when I visit a new zone, no floating orbs etc. Is this a thing and are they really gone? Do I need to purchase new ones from the market?

Maybe this is a bug, I'm not sure. Appreciate your input.

Similar thing seemed to happen to me where I removed my belt, which resulted in my boots being unusable due to attribute requirements. Afterward, my turtle spectre was nowhere to be found. I cannot imagine this to be an intended feature where the player loses a valuable spectre to simply losing access to or un-socketing the skill gem.