Mephi looked up at me, as if also curious what my answer might be. I ruffled his ears. “I’m not sure I know the answer to that, Eminence.”

She made a little sound of frustration and looked out the window. “Then at least show me how you did it.”

“Did what?”

“The water. Back when we were in Imperial City. Down in the entrance hall, when I was angry, I could feel the power in me. I knew I could make the ground shake if I chose to. I can’t practice that here, so show me how you made the water move.”

I hesitated, wondering what Gio would make of this. I would be helping her to grow more powerful, not less. I kept things vague. “It’s hard to explain. When you feel that thrum in your bones, think about the water. When it works for me, I feel suddenly aware of all the water around me, of how much of it there is. And then I sort of just reach out and move it. With my mind.”

She laughed, and then, seeing my lost expression, sobered. “I believe you, I do. It just sounds so strange. They do seem like Alanga powers, just not as strong and I haven’t seen you control the wind. Wait – can you control the wind?”

“Imagine that power and a good sailboat. If I had the ability, I might have turned down Captain of the Imperial Guard and stayed a smuggler,” I said lightly.

She closed her eyes, and I felt something in the room steady. I never seemed to realize how much she unsettled me until I wasn’t looking at her anymore. She breathed in and out, deeply, and I knew that if I placed my hand on hers, I’d feel the tremor in her bones.

Why was I thinking about touching her? I needed to stop doing this. I wasn’t even sure what “this” was.

Slowly, she extended a hand, her fingers unfurling like the petals of a flower. And then a droplet of rain outside stopped in mid-air, hovering. It moved languidly but with purpose, slipping between the opened shutters and floating above her hand.

She opened her eyes and let it drop into her palm.

I could barely breathe. How had she done that on her first try? The first time I’d even felt the water around me, I’d not known what to do with it. Even when I’d been at the height of desperation, trying to defend Mephi from the four-armed construct, I’d only managed clumsy whips of water. And here she had isolated a single drop of water and had bent it to her will.

I was on my feet without realizing I’d risen.

She stood up, and her gaze met mine. “Like that?”