Admiral Anoushka rose from nothing to command an army unrivaled in all the galaxies. She did not rise alone. War between godlike machines is breaking out, and at its center is the AI who aided Anoushka's ascent. Now payment has come calling: her closest allies are subverted, her body is twisted by poison that bends her toward madness, and her wife has been stolen. The machines will devour the stars as they battle each other for the ultimate prize: the next step in AI evolution, the key that will give them the universe. Yet Anoushka hasn't survived this long to become collateral damage. She will fight until she no longer can . . . and she will take back what's hers.