Aeschelus tapped a finger on the back of a chair as he thought. ‘Nothing passed through the sanctuary of the Geller field, but your companion has somehow been struck blind. How is that possible?’

‘I think her reaction is an artefact of her subconscious mind. Something she witnessed was so overwhelming that her brain decided to shut out all sight of it.’

‘Something in the warp storm?’

‘The opposite, captain.’ The Navigator raised her gaze to the Space Marine’s. ‘The warp has been calming by the hour. As we travel towards Casparill it seems as though the worst eddies and currents have been… quelled.’

A knock on the door heralded the arrival of the other Navigator, Qurius. He was a lot younger than Kosa and Dosellua, and eyed Aeschelus as one might watch a seemingly docile predator. He flicked a brief look at Kosa before speaking.

‘Dosellua is waking, Novius Primus. She is asking for you.’

Heading back into the main room, they found Dosellua sitting up, waving away a gaggle of concerned serfs. She struggled to her feet, swaying on uncertain legs.

‘We must go back,’ she said, voice cracking. She took a tottering step, hands out in front of her as though to grab something for balance. ‘The way ahead is blocked.’

‘The storm was abating, cousin,’ said Qurius, hurrying forward to take Dosellua’s arm. She flinched at his touch, though she must have sensed him approaching. ‘Has it returned?’

‘There is nothing.’ Her gaze slid off her cousin and back to Aeschelus, the skin behind her brow-band furrowing. ‘Captain?’

‘What did you see?’ he demanded. ‘What did you see in the warp?’

‘Nothing, captain,’ she gasped. Her hand moved to her brow as though to remove the protective band. Qurius grabbed her wrist, preventing her from revealing the devastating power of her third eye.

‘You are not yourself, cousin,’ said the youngest Navigator. ‘You have had quite an ordeal.’

‘I saw nothing!’ snapped Dosellua, shoving Qurius away. She snatched off her headband. ‘Nothing!’

Aeschelus averted his gaze, knowing well that to look upon the third eye of a Navigator was to invite insanity, even for a Space Marine. ‘By the Emperor, what are you doing?’ he demanded, shielding his eyes.

‘It is safe, captain.’ There was an edge to Kosa’s tone. Horror.

Aeschelus peered through his fingers, unable to fully abandon the sense of security his hand gave him despite Kosa’s assurance. Yet when his gaze fell upon the forehead of Dosellua he saw only a blackened orb, dull and lifeless.

‘How did this happen to you?’ he asked, hand dropping to his side. ‘What power inflicted this upon your third eye?’

‘Nothing,’ Dosellua said again, growing angry. ‘There was nothing. No peaks, no troughs, no currents, no eddies. The warp disappeared into utter stillness. There was nothing to refract the Light of Terra, to disperse its power, and for a moment I looked upon the full might of the Astronomican.’