Page 38 of Bite for Sore Eyes

She'd almost forgotten about the test results from yesterday's head scan and bloodwork. For many blissful hours, she'd managed to push aside the reality of her progressive neural synchronization disorder and pretend she was just a woman falling in love with two incredible men on a beautiful alien world.

"Answer it," she said quietly, surprised by how steady her voice sounded.

Rath's thumb hovered over the device for a moment, his eyes searching her face with concern. Then he pressed the button and Kelly's warm but professionally calm voice filled the morning air.

"Hello, Rath. Is Lana with you?"

"Yes, she's sitting right here with me and Torren."

Lana's hands tightened involuntarily around both men's fingers.

"Good, because we have the test results from Lana's bloodwork and head scan."

Despite every rational thought screaming at her to manage her expectations, Lana's traitorous heart leaped with desperate hope. Maybe Nova Aurora's advanced medical technology could analyze her blood and brain activity differently than Earth's machines ever had. Maybe they would finally see something that dozens of specialists had missed.

Don't do this to yourself, she warned internally. You've been down this road too many times.

"The good news is that Lana's bloodwork looks perfectly normal," Kelly continued. "Nothing to indicate her body is deteriorating or that the illness is putting stress on her system."

"That is great news," Rath said immediately, his relief evident in his voice.

Lana felt a flicker of cautious optimism. Normal bloodwork was better than she'd expected, considering her body should theoretically be showing signs of the progressive neurological decline that would eventually kill her.

"What about the results from my head scan?" she asked, leaning forward slightly.

There was a brief pause before Kelly responded, and Lana's stomach clenched with familiar anticipation.

"That's the strange part. For someone with a rare neurological illness, your brain activity looks completely normal. Nothing that would indicate the brain wasn't working exactly as it should."

The familiar deflated feeling crashed over Lana like a tidal wave. There it was—the same frustrating pattern that had defined the last two years of her life. Tests that revealed nothing. Results that made no sense. A mysterious condition that defied every attempt at explanation or understanding.

Of course, she thought bitterly. Why would Nova Aurora be any different?

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Lana said, fighting to keep the disappointment from her voice. "That's consistent with what I've learned over the past two years. My brain apparently looks perfectly healthy right up until the moment it decides to misfire and cause random symptoms."

She could almost feel both Rath and Torren's frustration—their desperate desire to fix this problem and to protect their mate from something they couldn't fight with strength or strategy. The helplessness radiating from them hurt more than her own disappointment.

"Well," Kelly's voice continued, "I talked with Emry, and we have a few theories we're working on. Would you be willing to meet with us tomorrow for a discussion about them?"

Lana's first instinct was to say no. To thank Kelly for trying and politely decline any further medical consultations. She'd come to Nova Aurora to live fully, not to spend her remaining time chasing more theories that would likely lead nowhere.

But something in Kelly's tone gave her pause. There was a confidence there that she hadn't heard from medical professionals in a long time. Not the false reassurance that doctors often offered, but genuine curiosity backed by real knowledge. More importantly though, she caught sight of the worried expressions on Rath and Torren's faces. The way they were trying to hide their fear for her sake, attempting to respect her wishes while clearly desperate for any possibility of hope.

They need this, she realized. Even if it leads nowhere, they need to know we tried everything.

"Sure," she heard herself saying, the word coming out before she could second-guess the decision. "We can meet with you tomorrow to have a discussion."

The immediate relief that flooded both men's faces confirmed that she'd made the right choice. Rath's shoulders relaxed fractionally, and Torren's grip on her hand loosened from the death-grip he'd unconsciously adopted.

"Great. We'll see you tomorrow then," Kelly said warmly before ending the call.

Rath set down his communicator and turned to face her fully, his eyes intense with concern and something that looked like gratitude.

"I want to go to the security center and work with Jace today," she announced, needing to redirect her energy toward something she could actually control. "I need to take my mind off this illness stuff."

"If that's what you want, we can walk you over there now," Rath said finally, his tone suggesting he understood her need for normalcy.

She smiled at both of them, feeling some of her equilibrium returning. "Yes. I need to put my attention into something I can control right now."