Theo’s hands gripped under her arms and he pulled her up and against him. “Damn it, Sarafina, what did you do?”

She gasped, pressing her hand to the center of her chest as if she could chase away the pain. “I pulled . . . as much . . . as I could.”

Theo scooped her into his arms. The action surprised the hell out of her, but she had no energy left to protest. All she could do was hold on as he bore her out of the ballroom and up to his apartment. Once inside, he laid her on the couch. Grosset hopped into her lap and wildly licked her face, perhaps sensing she was in great pain.

Theo stood back and gazed down at her. “You have to take care of your seat, Sarafina. You can’t rip out massive amounts of magick the way you did.”

She glared up at him. “There was a daaeman standing in front of me.” The words sounded choked.

“Do not speak!”

Anger, even more acute than her pain, made her straighten her spine and try to shout at him, even though it came out more a harsh murmur, “Don’t tell me what to do!” She collapsed back against the cushions and closed her eyes, drawing a ragged breath and fighting unconsciousness.

He gestured inarticulately for a moment before seeming to gather his thoughts. He took a deep breath before speaking. “Look, Sarafina, you can’t just yank out huge chunks of power from your seat. If Bai were to show up again right now, you’d be completely defenseless.”

“You’re right.” She nodded. “I know . . . you’re right.”

“Don’t speak.” This time he said it in a gentler tone. Theo held up a hand to stop her from continuing. “You’ll injure yourself further. I understand what happened. You were faced with all that daaeman in front of you, and you panicked. You yanked out a big chunk of power to throw at him, as much as you could.”

She nodded. God, her throat and chest hurt.

“It’s a rookie mistake, right? Can you see that? We’ve talked about this.”

Sarafina closed her eyes for a moment and nodded again. Yes, she saw that. She’d screwed up.

He knelt on the floor by the side of the couch. “I understand why you did it, but that has to be the last time. Pulling that shit in the middle of a battle can get you killed. You dole out power little by little, using it to best advantage. Don’t gamble it all away in one go.”

“I see what you’re saying,” she whispered.

“Good. Now what can I do to help you feel better? You won’t have enough power to heal yourself for a while.”

Sarafina blinked. The man was actually having a normal-type conversation with her, with eye contact and everything. It was jarring.