The inquisitor shifted in his chair. “You marked a Warp daemon?”

“A daemonhost in the throes of its ascension.”

“Sarkyss was being born as you entered its lair?”

“The Imperial Guard’s new offensive must have met the beast’s quota for blood, making me the midwife.”

“The Inquisitorial augur scans had shown that to be the case. Inquisitor Agrimunt mentioned it when she was here.”

“Nobody mentioned it to me, but my path had already been decided.”

“By whom?”

“A rogue primaris named Lucien Cano,” I picked a name out of thin air—one of many that drove me through that war. I’d been desperate to prove that I wasn’t him and still wasn’t sure I’d succeeded.

“Paric, the chain of command really doesn’t concern you, does it?”

 ...