He stared at the water under his boots He felt stupid for a second He felt like a kid in school again trying to solve math in front of the class while everyone watched For a breath nothing happened He heard a couple of soft laughs from the rail Like See He cannot do it Maybe all the stories are nothing Maybe he is just some ground rat Corren brought in to show us a lesson about arrogance

He wanted to shut that down fast

Evan exhaled slow He let his shoulders drop He put his focus low in his chest not in his hands He remembered the river He remembered telling it Hold for me brother Just a little longer He remembered the calm in the fire He remembered the way fear always tried to make him move fast and the way he always said slow Slow first Then move He reached for the water under his boots the same way he had reached for the river and just asked

Help me up

The water answered so fast he almost lost it All at once the surface under his boots lifted in a clean rise The level jumped from his ankle to his calf It felt like someone had grabbed him from below and tried to throw him He staggered back one step and the water surged harder like it wanted to launch him into the air The ring gasped out loud

Mara moved quick Hands up Palms open Calm down Brooks Not so much

Control He told himself Control He pushed the feeling down like easing off a hose line so it did not whip He let his breath fall into a slow steady rhythm and sent one thought back to the water Easy Easy Stay with me Stay low Do not jump

The surge settled The water around his boots stopped trying to throw him and instead rose in a slow smooth column around his right hand It lifted clear and held there waiting He looked down at it It moved like liquid glass curled around his fingers He lifted his hand and the water followed like it was part of him

The ring went silent No one laughed now

Mara’s face changed She had a grin on at first like proud instructor but then the grin faded into something else She looked almost uneasy like she had just seen a rookie pick up a live saw with no gloves and hold it steady like a toy She said slow That is not normal

He frowned I am still working on normal here Mara I need you to start telling me what that word even means

She walked a slow circle around him Her eyes stayed on the water in his hand Not on his body Not on his face On the water Like it was an animal that might bite

Finally she said Brooks Most fresh marks cannot lift clean for months You did it on first pull and you did it big That would already scare people Then came the worst part You told it to calm and it listened like it works for you That is not how it is supposed to go The water is not supposed to act like it knows you

Evan swallowed He looked at the water held around his hand It did feel familiar It felt like working with a good crew someone you trusted without speaking He said quiet It feels like my guys When I say move they move When I say hold they hold We work one line We cover each other It feels like that

Mara let out a slow breath and shook her head Of course it does You are bond marked That is why Corren did not drown you Bond marked are almost never flameborn The last one like that we had went straight to the queen

Evan froze His stomach tightened What does that mean straight to the queen Mara gave him a look It means that after this session and maybe after lunch you are going to meet her

He stared at her You said no You said I cannot talk to her yet Mara shrugged I said a lot of things I was hoping to have days before she noticed you You just made the floor lift on your first try You think the wellguard did not feel that You think Corren cannot feel you pulling pressure from the ring You think the main flow did not jump when you asked for help If you did not want attention you should have come here quiet and talentless

He rubbed his face with both hands Damn Mara nodded Yes Damn