Illyana found herself smiling back at him, wide and uncommonly warm. "There is no guarantee," she admitted freely, removing her finger from the display case and consequently dropping the light show. "Oh, I might attempt to assuage your concern by pointing out that other mages assisted in laying the wards, and that other mages still will be trained in how to manipulate the spells tied to the library and its materials. I don't intend to be the only person capable of processing withdrawals and returns. Or I could tell you that this library is my way of contributing to the well-being of this place where I now live and its people, and that it would damn my own interests to somehow abuse this resource for the community."

But the truth of the matter is that it's well within my power to work significant magics in this place, and that it would prove intensely difficult for others to stop me if I had some ill - or contradictory - intent." That fact stretched well beyond the boundaries of the library, but she didn't feel the need to explain as much. She shifted away from the case, to face him more directly. "We must each of us decide how far to extend our trust, Percy."