hands of the Rada who have relied upon the evocation for everything. Laws need to be instituted to protect people like that kind family you met in the mountains. And they will be. It will just take time.” She drew a breath. “In fact … I’ve decided to move the palace to Vasterya. I was just discussing it with Jarvis and Ava.”
“What?” I asked, shocked.
“The province is central. From there, my power will be absolute. It will even reach Alvernia. What happened to you need never happen to anyone again. But as I say, this will all take time. Patience, Rogan.” She smiled.
For a moment, I was taken aback by how determined and self-possessed Haydyn was. Then again, I had witnessed a change in her these last few weeks. She was taking charge with remarkable aplomb. The sleeping disease had changed her as much as I.
Still … I needed her to understand. “Perhaps once you’ve set up proper government, you might think about easing Phaedra out of the evocation?”
Haydyn guffawed. “Are you jesting, Rogan?”
I frowned. “No.”
“Why would I take away the evocation? It’s my purpose in life.”
“Your purpose in life is to reign over your people and take care of them. Make decisions that will better their lives. Not control them.”
Horror slackened her features. “Control them?”
I sighed. I was doing this all wrong. “Not control them. That’s not what I meant. I meant …” I searched the room, looking for the words. They landed on Haydyn’s bed, where I’d kissed her forehead weeks before, promising I’d wake her up. “We’re all asleep under the evocation. We’re not free to be truly ourselves. You more than anyone must understand the imprisonment of sleep, Haydyn. We’re not prepared for what will happen when we wake up. We never will be unless we stop relying on the evocation. We have to stop being afraid.”
Something happened to her as she stood before me. I saw her shoulders stiffen, her spine lengthen, her chin jut. Her eyes were still kind, still loving, but there was obstinance in them. “In sleep we don’t get the choice between dreams and nightmares. With my evocation, Phaedra sleeps peacefully. Without it … it could be a waking nightmare. And why should we worry about there being no evocation? That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it. You won’t.”
“I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you ever. And you’re right: I will do anything to make sure nothing ever happens to you again. But surely we should prepare for the worst when we’re talking about securing the future of our land.”
“I am securing the future of our land. I will marry. I will have children. I will teach those children to use the evocation. After everything you’ve gone through, how can you tell me the evocation isn’t worth it?”
I could feel myself losing my grip on this discussion, so I said the one thing I thought may penetrate. “It’s dangerous to rely on this, Haydyn. You can’t guarantee your children will be born with the evocation.”
Haydyn paled. “The Dyzvati reign has not been broken in all these centuries. I doubt it’s going to end with me. But since you insist on being a pessimist, I’ll remind you that the contingency plan, as you suggest, is to enforce the evocation with proper legislation and closer involvement in each of the provinces.”
I gave her a bittersweet smile. “I’m not going to convince you otherwise?”
My best friend shook her head and then laughed softly at my expression, her eyes pleading with me to understand. “You wanted me to wake up, Rogan, and take control of my lands. Well, this is what I see now that I’m awake.”
I sighed heavily. Haydyn was right, of course. All these years, all I had ever wanted was for her to be the kralovna I knew she could be. I had just never realized that when she did, we’d see things differently. Governing Phaedra, making decisions for our people, had never been my journey. My journey had been saving the person who was destined for that … and in saving her, I found myself. I wanted to make a difference, and I could only do that through Haydyn.
I wasn’t ready to give up on what I believed in. It would take time, but maybe one day I would convince her that freedom to be who they were, good or bad, was what our people really deserved.
I thought of Wolfe and how I knew he’d support me in