Harry has more or less been tested since he was sixteen.

And according to Mab, who was around for the last Stars and Stones, he's just now rounding into shape. Listen has been the point man for the Formor in Chicago, so he has a similar role. Near death experiences caused by their given assignments are pretty common for both of them. Perhaps the "forged in fire" training is the only way to get the Starborn ready for the big event.

Lara may be anxious about Thomas, but she won't blame Harry for his condition. She's very practical, does love her family and realizes that not only did Harry not cause this injury to Thomas, but that she forced Harry into considerable danger in saving Thomas' life from the Svartalves and hiding him on the island.

I also think Thomas can remain a vampire and still wield a Sword. We've already seen Susan use one on a mission of love to save her daughter. Thomas can use the same Sword of Love to save the souls of Justine and his child. What happens after that is open. Perhaps prolonged exposure to the Sword will change the nature of his demon. Or maybe he's only a Knight for that mission since we've been told that being a long-term sword wielder is not the normal. Maybe they get rid of Papa Raith and Thomas becomes the new White King and Lara becomes Harry's sidekick.

I'm sure all these guesses are wrong but until Jim tells the story, WAGs are all we've got.

Unless Murphy is going to return very soon, I hope Harry does lose that protection from Murphy.

Barring a book with the White court as the primary antagonists, that protection is not a good thing. Maintaining that protection means that Harry remains celibate. While I don't want him to go wild, give the man some outlet for stress relief. A healthy sex life could be the key to controlling the Winter Knight mantle.

There was a plan in both books, but it was all a Nemesis plot. Maeve was just a willing tool until she was takenoff the board in Cold Days, then Nemesis shifted to Justine.

If they don't give you credit for having the last 4 Knights of the Cross as close friends ...

The worst injuries of Carlos' life have come at the hands of the White Court and when he's been involved with Winter as an ally.

His injuries in the Wraith Deeps were his first as a mage. Molly messed him up badly and he was helping her. The PT/BG action led to his embarrassment during the meeting, a traumatic battle where he lost his two closest friends besides Harry and a climactic battle where he was merely a living shield instead of a major player. To him, being involved with the Winter and White Courts, is one of the worst places that a mage can be.

So now we have his relationship with Harry to consider. He still thinks of harry as a friend, but he can't completely trust him. He's wrong about Harry not telling him all his secrets, but Harry is beholden to Winter and is very friendly with the White Court. Blaming Harry for Kimiko and Wild Bill can be excused as trauma but even with his doubts he did argue against Harry's expulsion.

His warning talk with Harry at the end on BG wasn't handled well, but he had been thru nearly as much stress and trauma as Harry during that time. He wasn't thinking clearly and running nerves just as raw. I think he'll give Harry the benefit of the doubt when next they meet, but he'll be wary and Harry needs to be a tad more tactful himself.

I think Harry not being found was a combination of Justin and Lea hiding him but not necessarily working together to do so.

Justin took Harry from the orphanage and hid the legal traces and some of the magical ones. He may have been good enough all on his own, but Lea may have helped here by obscuring the trail long enough for it to grow too cold for Eb's and Morgan's searches to find him.

Why would she do that? She has a deal with Maggie Sr. to protect Harry but she's not operating from a humancentric moral stance. Justin was keeping Harry (and Elayne) safe and training them in magic. She might have thought he would be safer there than in the households that Eb/Morgan would make for them. Plus, she never lost track of Harry. She's watched from the NeverNever to fulfil her obligation towards Harry until Ghost Story. She even kept Harry's homes linked to her realms in the NeverNever so she could see when he was in trouble. When Justin turned on Harry, she came running, saw that Harry had beaten HWWB and gave him the confidence he needed to face Justin, who Harry perceived as a bigger threat. Since Harry won, she didn't need to step in.

Risky? Yes. Tough Love? She's Winter Fae, I think that's all they understand.