“To the limit of my foresight, yes. That makes no allowance for federal interests, however. My reach there is more limited.”

Mab contemplated the reply and then nodded. She considered Lara. “Can you nullify their involvement?”

Lara thought for a moment before answering. “On the political level, there’s more profit to be gained from engagement than nullification. On the practical level, however . . . there’s no way to keep the Librarians out entirely now.”

“A complication,” Vadderung said, in the wry tone of a man engaging in understatement.

Lara grimaced.

“Who are these Librarians?” Evanna asked.

“The Library of Congress, Special Collections Division,” Lara provided. “Also known as the Librum Bellum. Men in Black.”

“Government agents,” Evanna noted. “What danger do they pose?”

“They’re the eyes and ears,” Lara said. “They’re smart, skilled, dedicated, professional, they’ve got several centuries of collective knowledge through the Masons, and they will absolutely be coming to learn whatever they can. They are extremely dangerous.”

“Assuming they haven’t been here in the city all along,” Vadderung pointed out mildly. “Perhaps they’ve already identified each of us.”

Lara winced. “Optimist.”

Vadderung’s mouth twitched at a corner.

The Summer Lady cleared her throat and glanced at Mab, who nodded. Sarissa turned her gaze along the circle as she said, “Make whatever preparations you wish. But the truth is out. And spreading. All of these stratagems, from the mortal authorities or from us, can only delay that.”

“Sweet Summer child,” Lara murmured wryly.

Mab held up a slender hand as if to forestall bickering. “We must prepare for as many futures as possible, not merely the ones we prefer. If we can slow the mortals’ collective hand from striking until we have dealt with the Fomor, then it is worthwhile to attempt. If nothing else, it lets us focus upon a single foe at a time.”

I felt myself freeze for a moment at that.

Humanity.

A foe.

I glanced around. Yeah. No wonder there wasn’t a representative from the White Council here. Like it or not, they were pretty much the spokespeople for humanity at large, within the Accorded nations. A lot of wizards had family in the mortal world, close ties to it. Martha Liberty was still close with members of an extended clan of whom she was the founding matriarch, down in New Orleans, for example.

And . . . well, even I had Maggie. Friends. It mattered to me. The environment those people existed in, their society, it mattered to me.

Sarissa looked a little disturbed. But other than that, I realized that there was no one else in this room for whom that was true.

Stars and stones.

Ramirez hadn’t been wrong.

I was working with monsters.

But I wasn’t them.

I leaned forward slightly, as if preparing to take a step, and Mab said, “Ladies and gentlemen, my Knight requests audience. In light of his recent service to the Accorded nations, I believe it right and proper to grant it. Will anyone here gainsay me?”

Marcone suddenly looked more alert.

I gave him a little smile. I didn’t quite blow him a kiss. But I let him know it was coming.

“This should be interesting,” Vadderung murmured.

Mab turned to me and nodded, tilting her head in toward the center of the circle.

I shambled forward into it and felt the gazes of very dangerous people upon me.

And for the first time, I didn’t have any of the weight of the White Council backing me up.

It was just me. That was intimidating.

But it also meant that I had me on my side. And I liked the way that felt.

Don’t fight all of them, Harry, I thought. Fight one of them.

And I turned to Marcone.

“The Summer and Winter Courts care about balance,” I said. “And what the Accorded nations have done to Chicago has created a terrible imbalance. More than just the political and military consequences of our conflicts, we have violated the spirit of laws so old that they have never been written down. We were guests in Chicago. And we brought our troubles to their home.”

An uneasy ripple went through some of those in the circle: Vadderung, Mab, Evanna, and Sarissa all stirred uneasily.

Lara and Marcone took careful note of that.

“Choices have consequences that ripple out in all directions,” I said quietly. “And our choices have hurt the people of this city. We can’t possibly scramble to minimize the consequences to our lives without acknowledging the debt we have incurred by inflicting our conflict upon them.”

I met Marcone’s eyes. “Our world isn’t supposed to cross with theirs, for the most part. And in return, they mostly ignore us. Now you say that the mortals are going to be sending eyes and ears in. Well, maybe it’d be smart for them to see some things.”

“What do you suggest?” Marcone asked.

“The Accorded nations provide humanitarian aid and assistance,” I said.

That got a reaction from everyone, from Vadderung’s eyebrow lift to Evanna’s incredulous sputter.

“I’m not saying make open diplomatic contact,” I said. “I’m saying we act. We help. Indirectly, in secret. If they’re looking, they’ll see what you’re doing. Let them see us do what we can to balance the scales. Ethniu’s attack changed everything. It was too big, too loud. They’ve seen us. And we’d better show them from the get-go that we aren’t trying to murder them all. Because we made a bad first impression. And because it’s smart. And because it’s right.” I met Marcone’s eyes. “I called, and men and women of this city answered. They followed me. They fought. And I felt them die.”

Something flickered in Marcone’s face.

His chin moved in the faintest vertical tilt of acknowledgment.

I dropped my voice to something that was just between me and Marcone. “We owe them more than just washing our hands of the mess. And you’re going to make a fortune rebuilding things anyway.”

Marcone’s eyes flickered with amusement, acknowledging the truth of my point.

“The Accords,” he said, carefully, “are not a charitable organization.”

“Nor are we beggars, unable to pay our debts,” Mab answered. “My Knight makes a fine point: Our fight did them harm. They had to choose to shed their blood in defense. Innocents were slain. Value lost. Specifics can be argued, but the direction of the debt is clear.” Her head swiveled to me. “What recompense do you recommend?”