Yuen pulled out his screen. “It’s Dearborn. I’ll be back.” He stepped into the hallway.

“We have to evacuate Chicago,” Theo said. “There’s no avoiding it.”

“First,” I said, “we have to talk to Claudia.”

* * *

• • •

While Yuen talked to his boss, Theo and I walked upstairs to the room where Delia watched over Claudia.

Delia stood in the hallway outside the closed door, bright pink scrubs a contrast against dark skin and hair, chatting quietly with one of the assigned guards.

“How is she?” Theo asked.

“She’s stable, as far as I can tell. But she’s away from the castle, from the magic. She’s not fading as quickly as she once would have because of the Egregore’s infusion, but she won’t last forever. She needs to be with her people.”

“At the moment, her people are trying to destroy Chicago,” I said.

Delia didn’t look the slightest bit fazed by that announcement, which was probably because she was a vampire, a physician, and a member of Cadogan House’s staff. I’d bet there wasn’t much that surprised her anymore.

“I presume you’re here to make sure she doesn’t involve herself in those efforts?”

“We’d like to talk to her about it,” I said. “Has she said anything about what’s happening?”

“Not that I’ve heard. She’s been in and out of consciousness. I’m not certain, but I believe they dosed her for transport, and then relied on her absence from the castle to keep her weak. I’m going to get some supplies while you talk to her,” she said. “I’ll be back.”

She walked down the hall, and we waited for the guard to open the door. Two more stood inside—one human, one vampire.

“We need to ask her some questions,” I said. “And she might not talk with you here. Can you give us a few minutes?”

The human looked at the vampire, who nodded. “We’ll be outside.”

“That’s fine. Thank you.”

Then the door closed behind us, leaving us in silence.

The room was small, with pale walls and wood floors. There was a simple wooden bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a bookshelf. Doors that led to a bathroom and closet. Most rooms had the same layout. Simple accommodations for the Cadogan vampires who chose to live in the House.

Claudia lay in the bed in the same dress we’d brought her in. She was still pale, but her color seemed to have evened out a little.

Her eyes opened. She looked at me. “You brought me from the church.”

“We did. You’re in Cadogan House. Ruadan attempted to depose you. He’s trying to bring the green land to Chicago.”

Her eyes opened wide and she tried to sit up, but her arms had been tied to the bed with leather restraints. If she were stronger, I suspected she’d be able to use magic to unbuckle them.

“They cannot.”

“They are,” I said. “They’ve shifted it here, or parts of it, into two places in the city.”

“No,” she said with desperation, and dropped her head again. “Bringing it here will not cause it to thrive. I have told him so many times.”

“What do you mean, it won’t thrive?” Theo asked.

“The green land should not exist here. It exists only in its realm. While that realm has touched the human world before, it is to be separate. It should remain so.”

She turned her head to look at us. “If you are speaking true, he has done a great wrong. Pulling the realm into this world stretches the warp and weft of our world and of yours. If that fabric is pulled too hard, it will tear. A hole will be wrought, and place and time will mix.” She swallowed hard. “That cannot be allowed. You must convince him.”

“I don’t think they’re going to be open to what we have to say.” Theo’s voice was dry.

“Make them understand. Keep the world as it is. Keep the green land hidden away. That is the only way you will save your city.”

“How do we do that, Claudia?” I asked. “Help us save your people.”

But her lips went tight.

“You’ll tell us they’re creating a danger,” I said, “but you won’t help us stop them?”

“They are mine,” she said, and turned her head away. “Helping their destruction would be treachery and betrayal.”

“They will destroy the green land,” I said quietly.

“You are a bloodletter,” she muttered. “You would lie.”

“I’m a bloodletter who saved your life,” I reminded her, and then recalled how much fairies loved bargains. “I am owed a boon.”

She looked at me, and there was ferocity in her face. Her cheekbones sharper, her lips thinner, her eyes a void of darkness. Not just a beautiful queen or frail regent. But a creature of magic and power and terror.

“The Ephemeris,” she said, looking away again as if disgusted by her weakness. “He found it . . . in the green land. It tells of the rivers of magic, and how to make use of them.”

And then her eyes closed again.

* * *

• • •

“The mayor will be instituting an immediate relocation of Chicago residents,” Yuen said when he returned. “Beginning with the neighborhoods closest to the . . . we’ll call them intrusion sites. Centers for those displaced will be established using the protocols established during Sorcha’s attack. The Illinois National Guard will be called in.”

“The Pack may also be helpful,” my father said. “Or what remains of it. And the other Masters may be able to assist with the relocation efforts. They also have experience in large-scale disruptions.”

“We’ll contact them,” Yuen agreed. “Can you work with the delegates?”

“We will,” my father said. “We can house any who wish to stay here, and assist those who want to return to Europe.”

And no need to discuss the city’s prior agreement with Cadogan, I thought, because the Houses are already involved in the peace talks.

“Riley should be released,” I said, gesturing toward the monitor, which still showed images of the grassy LSD. “It’s obvious this is bigger than him, that he was set up by the fairies.”

“I’ve talked to the prosecutor. They aren’t willing to release him, because there’s still no physical evidence linking the murder to anyone else. For the moment, we have to focus on the fairies. They don’t get to destroy Chicago, and they don’t get to send its people into magical exile.”

He looked at Theo. “Where are we on that?”

“Right this way,” Theo said, and gestured for us to follow him to the conference table, where a thin, open box held a stack of thick paper sheets with illuminated letters, careful script, and small sketches. “Claudia told us Ruadan found the Ephemeris in the green land. Turns out, the Ephemeris is a book currently stored in the National Library of Ireland. This is a facsimile of the pages from the Cadogan library. Which is impressive,” Theo added, with a smile for my father.

“What kind of book?” my mother asked, leaning forward.

“A fairy almanac,” Theo said. “The information ranges from the basic—building charms, coordinating magic with phases of the moon, understanding natural signs—to the complex.” He flipped through the pages to a sheet with a simple drawing of what looked like rivers winding through a forest.

“We don’t have any experts in the language of fairies in house other than Claudia, and she’s unconscious again. But this appears to be an explanation of ley lines and how to use them.”

“There are a lot of steps,” Petra said. “Charms and steps and procedures.”

“Anything about the green land?” Yuen asked.

“Not that we can tell without a full translation,” Theo said. “Ruadan must have figured that out on his own.”

“Or he could have been pulling information from Claudia incrementally,” I said quietly. “Waiting for his moment.”

“And when she didn’t do what Ruadan wanted at the peace talks,” Theo said, “he decided the fairies needed a different approach.”

“I don’t know if all the other fairies agree with him, but he has at least some allies,” I said with a nod. “The fairy who killed Tomas. The fairies who got Claudia into the vehicle and guarded her at the church. The fairies who supported him at the castle and Grant Park.”