‘Now that is a shock,’ Chetta commented. ‘But I suppose you can only spend so long with the Space Wolves before you want some civilised company.’

‘And of course, Dukarr,’ DeShelle finished.

‘Of course,’ Chetta sighed. Sen Uru Dukarr was the person she least wanted to speak to right now, and so naturally he’d turned up. ‘What about Jo’Sin? Is Veel coming, or has he foisted the Leech off onto us?’

‘Lord Veel has sent his apologies and condolences, and his son Lord Jalamar.’

‘The Leech,’ Chetta corrected her aide, taking a petty pleasure in using the name she couldn’t say in public. Jalamar Jo’Sin was his house’s great hope for the future, seeing as how he’d managed to ensnare and marry the Lady Morandia, Azariel Brobantis’ younger sister, after her arranged marriage to a different house had come apart when they’d suffered a terminal case of the Ordo Hereticus. Chetta respected Jalamar’s ambition, but it didn’t mean she had to like him. What made matters worse was that Morandia had always viewed Chetta’s marriage in the exact same way, despite the fact that Chetta had never had any say in the matter whatsoever, short of taking her own life to avoid it. Morandia was always going to be here, of course – she and Azariel had been genuinely fond of each other – but if Veel had come then Chetta could have at least dealt primarily with him, rather than his son.

And Azariel’s siblings didn’t end with Morandia. Over on the other side of the roof, brooding like one of the rain clouds above, was Vittariel. As ambitious as his brother-in-law Jalamar, but with a considerably worse temper, Vittariel Brobantis was the firebrand of the house’s ruling arm. Chetta actually quite liked him, despite herself; he was impetuous enough that he often said what he meant, unlike most high-born Navigators. He was also, if she was being entirely honest with herself, considerably more attractive than Azariel had been. She’d often reflected that her marriage might have been more enjoyable, albeit less influential, had she ended up betrothed to the younger Brobantis brother.

‘Has anyone offered their condolences on the… other matters?’ she asked quietly. Two members of her house had been found dead in Ascension City shortly before her return. On one occasion the body had been decapitated and then burned, presumably in an attempt to avoid it being identified. The other had been found with anti-mutant scrawls around it, and actually carved into the flesh, with the warp eye removed. Such sentiment wasn’t uncommon, of course, but it was a surprise for it to be prevalent on Vorlese, where so many Navigator houses had a prominent presence.

‘No one yet, my lady,’ DeShelle replied. They hadn’t made news of the deaths public. Anyone offering commiserations would know considerably more about it than they were supposed to.