"I'll speak with Father." Akurduana said to Vespasian, who was also a Lord Commander.
Vespasian breathed a sigh of relief and passed through the Triumphal Arch with Akurduana.
At intervals along both sides stood Emperor's Children holding golden spears, motionless as statues.
Akurduana continued onward until he reached the enormous Phoenix Gate.
Seeing the two Lord Commanders approaching side by side, the guards bowed deeply and planted their spears into the ground. The massive bronze leaves parted smoothly.
Akurduana and Vespasian nodded to them before passing through the gate and entering Heliopolis, the Primarch's council hall.
Towering pale stone walls supported the immense domed chamber. Intricate mosaic patterns covered the walls, while long banners of purple and gold silk hung between green marble columns.
Rows upon rows of marble benches surrounded Heliopolis, tiered toward the walls and capable of seating two thousand people.
Yet for this War Council, apart from the legion-affiliated 52nd Fleet, only a handful of commanders from the 28th Expeditionary Fleet who had requested their presence attended.
Nearly all the Remembrancers brought into the Expeditionary Fleet at the Sigillite's urging were present, and some had even brought easels.
They gathered around an exceptionally beautiful woman—the musician Beleka Kinska.
Second Company Captain Solomon Demeter watched the woman with sapphire-blue hair flowing around her. The Emperor's design had left Astartes like him with only vague feelings toward the opposite sex.
But Kinska's extraordinary allure stirred his senses.
Solomon frowned and lengthened his stride, drawing closer to his Lord Commander as he spoke in a low voice.
"Lady Kinska is strange."
Solomon felt a predator's gaze sweep over him. To his astonishment, the mortal woman had actually extricated herself from the social gathering and turned to look at him.
She smiled faintly, and the scent of apples rushed into the