‘We are void-worthy. More extensive repairs are beyond what can be done here. The Thirteenth Legion will be ready at dawn.’

‘So will the Ninth,’ said Sanguinius.

‘At dawn, then,’ said the Lion.

Levannas found Khalybus on the peak of the fortress. It was a narrow spire, the platform surrounded by lethally sharp metal plates. Khalybus stood motionless, an iron sentinel looking out over the people who had come to him for refuge. He turned his head slightly at Levannas’ approach and nodded very slightly.

‘The Sthenelus departs with the Legion fleets,’ Levannas said.

‘It does,’ Khalybus answered, his metallic voice making the curt response sound even harsher.

Levannas joined him in gazing at the refugee camp. ‘We will be turning our backs on all who came to us for help,’ he said.

‘We go where the war takes us. We are warriors, not guardians. The battle calls us to Terra. Remaining here would be pointless.’

‘The people below would tell us otherwise. They would say we are abandoning them to their doom.’

‘They may yet survive.’

‘Not if the Pilgrim comes here.’

‘And if it does, and we are here, what good would we do?’

‘None,’ Levannas admitted. If half the tales the refugees told were true, a single strike cruiser would not last long against such an enemy.

‘Then we are agreed,’ said Khalybus.

‘We are.’

Khalybus walked to the edge of the parapet. His fists closed over the adamantium crenellations. Levannas found the Iron Hands captain hard to read, even after years of combat together. But it seemed to him Khalybus was struggling with a heavy weight.

‘When Atticus escaped the Isstvan System,’ Khalybus said, ‘he had warriors from the Eighteenth Legion with him as well as from yours.’

‘You’re wondering what the Salamanders would say about leaving Thrinos to its fate?’

‘I know exactly what they would say. It changes nothing.’ He turned away from the camp. ‘I thought, when you arrived, that I would hear their argument from you.’

‘Why?’ said the Raven Guard. ‘Remaining, as you said, would be a poor strategy.’

‘I am not sure. Perhaps I imagined, because you are still more flesh than I am, that you would feel closer to the flesh below us.’

Levannas found the camp hard to look at now, too. ‘You may be right,’ he said. ‘I knew what must be done when I climbed the steps of this tower. But if I’m honest, I wanted to hear you make the case for leaving.’

Khalybus grunted. It was the sound of gears slipping, the closest he came to laughter. ‘Any hint of doubt from me is unwelcome, then. It seems we are disappointing each other.’

‘The truth of the matter is, whether we like it or not, we have been the guardians of Thrinos these past years.’