Rose opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Zanr standing next to the slab where she lay. He looked as if he stood guard duty. Her heart melted. How long had he stood there, waiting for her to wake?
Then she remembered. Her body ached and even her eyelashes hurt when she blinked them. "Zanr?" She could barely whisper the words but his eyes snapped to her, and he grabbed her and held her against his chest.
"You are awake, my breeder." She heard relief in his voice.
"Did it work?"
Silence - and her heart sank. Then he said, "Viglar managed to get most of the nanos out of you."
"Most of them?" she squeaked. She wanted to start scratching again. Could almost feel the little machines swimming inside her body.
"He is refining the process. You need to become stronger before he drains the last of the nanos out of you."
"What if they kill me before he gets them out?"
"He will monitor you every moment until he can do the procedure again."
"Can I go home to our dwelling?"