Knight free will

Aurora nodded and folded her hands in her lap. "Summer readies to go to war against Winter."
I frowned. "You mean it's not just a theoretical possibility anymore. It's real."
"I know no other kind of war. The loss of the Summer Knight has forced Summer's hand."
"I'm not sure I follow."
Her pale brow knit into a soft frown. "The power of our Knights is considerable. It carries a sort of weight that only a free mortal will can possess. That power, that influence, is a critical element of the balance between our Courts."
"Except now yours is gone."
"Exactly."
"Which makes Summer weaker."
"Yes."
I nodded. "Then why the hell are you planning an attack?"
"The seasons are changing," Aurora said. "In two days' time, Midsummer will be upon us. The height of Summer's strength."
She said nothing more, letting me do the math. "You think Winter has taken away your Knight," I said. "And if you wait, you're only going to grow more and more weak, while Winter gets stronger. Right?"
"Correct. If we are to have any chance of victory, we must strike while at the peak of our strength. It will be the only time when our Court might be near equal to Winter's strength. Otherwise, the seasons will change, and at Midwinter Mab and her creatures will come for us. And they will destroy us, and with us the balances of the mortal world." She lifted her green eyes from her hands to my face. "Winter, Mister Dresden. Endless Winter. Unending and vicious cycles of predator and prey. Such a world would not be kind to mortals."


Summer Knight Chapter 17, Page 212