The second book of the duology. A defective robot came out of the Iron Asp: it tramples machine logic, talks back, pilots crookedly, and fights badly. Now it needs to kill the daughter of a sworn enemy and destroy an entire planet before it’s too late… to save the borders of the empire. The choice is hard, and the robot makes mistake after mistake, losing time waiting for a miracle. But it still gives the enemy a chance. The Iron Asp flies into an anomalous world of arachnids and wise plants. There, His Majesty steals starships, chops off heads, and bargains at a cosmic flea market—in the hope of saving everyone. Or is it impossible to save everyone?