“The Ephors?” I asked as David said, “How long have you been a Mage?”

We glared at each other, and Blythe’s gaze flicked back and forth between us. The corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk, cracking the dried blood under her nose. “Which one of you am I supposed to answer first?”

After a moment, David rolled his eyes. “Her,” he said, gesturing toward me. “Answer her first.”

But instead of answering, Blythe kept looking at the two of us. “How old are you guys?”

“Seventeen,” we answered in unison, and Blythe made a kind of gurgling chuckle. Seriously, I never wanted to break someone’s nose again, even if they were trying to stab me. It had some majorly gross aftereffects.

“Me, too,” she said. While she’d seemed young, she hadn’t looked that young. David glanced over at me, and although telepathy wasn’t part of the Paladin-Oracle bond, I still knew what he was thinking: How effed up is this?

Tightening the cardigan around my hand, I stared Blythe down. “You haven’t answered my question.”

Heaving a sigh, Blythe leaned back in the chair. “Yes, the Ephors,” she said, and while she didn’t add “you idiot,” it was clearly implied. Then she looked at David. “And as for your question, about six months.”

“How do they find you?” I found myself asking. Suddenly, I was really regretting not asking Saylor more about all of this. It would’ve been nice to know that Mages could be just as homicidal and dangerous as Paladins in their own way.

Blythe looked up at me, tilting her face. “You know those tests you take in school? The things that judge aptitude for certain careers?”

“I worship those tests,” I said, leaning back against one corner of the desk.

A lock of hair had fallen into Blythe’s eyes, and she huffed out a breath. “Me, too. There are questions woven into that thing that alert the Ephors to people who have Mage potential.”

David stepped back a little, nearly tripping over a jar of pens. It must have fallen during the fight with Blythe. Righting himself, David rubbed one hand over his mouth, studying Blythe. “But a Mage’s power can be passed on, right?”

Sighing, Blythe rolled her neck. “Yes, but it helps to find someone with a few natural abilities if you can. If the Ephors have time, which they did in my case. The Mage before me knew she was dying for months. Plenty of time to prepare.”

Over Blythe’s head, David and I locked eyes. That was an interesting little fact. I wondered if it worked the same way for Paladins. But before I could ask, Blythe jerked her head in my direction and said, “Now would the two of you get on with the killing me part already?”