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the goblet to my lips and took a tiny taste. And wanted to throw up. Good thing I had nothing to hurl so I wouldn’t embarrass myself in front of the two impossibly beautiful goddesses.
    I sipped again, struggling to get the foul liquid down my throat. A blend of oiliness, a sharp bite of some bitter herbs, the cloying warmth of the water, and another unidentifiable taste tickled the back of my throat and threatened to force me to throw up. I swallowed, over and over again until the one sip was safely in the bottom of my empty stomach.
    I repeated the action, forcing myself to think of other things, but imagining the foul liquid was Mead was the hardest possible thing to do. But I think it helped a little. At last the goblet was empty and Frigga even checked that all was gone, giving a satisfied sniff before making the goblet disappear into thin air.
    Frigga opened her palm and offered it to me. "Here, this might help," she said with a kind smile. Two small chunks of fresh honeycomb lay in her hand.
    I took them and chomped on the sweet gooiness, noting absently that my limbs were slowly turning to a soft sludge. By the time I'd eaten the second piece, I could no longer keep my body upright. Frigga raised a hand to my arm, ready to catch me if I fell. She rose and made a place for me on the bed, then lay me on my front, baring my back to Eir, who repositioned herself beside me.
    "Ah, that is much better," she said.
    Eir took the blade and inspected it closely. "This looks good." And then she went to work.
    She moved beside me each time she sawed back and forth. All I felt was a slight push of her body against mine and the strangest tugging against my shoulder blades deep, deep inside my body.
    I watched over my shoulder, my head snuggled on a silken pillow as Eir's hands moved in a regular pattern until finally she stopped, leaned over, and placed something on the tray sitting on the bed stand. My gaze followed her hand, and as she returned to the job, I studied the remnants of an inch-long piece of wing-bone lying clean and white on the golden tray, one end jagged and broken, the other cut neat and smooth.
    Soon, she placed the second bone beside the first and gave her full attention to my back. She didn’t have much left to do except apply a salve to my bruised skin. Dr. Lee hadn’t been kind in his ministrations. Now more than ever, I was sure he'd intended to kill me sooner or later. I’d been completely dispensable. He'd gotten what he wanted. He'd used my blood to kill hundreds of Warriors for his father's quest, and he'd extracted an unknown amount of information about me from my blood and my wings. He'd certainly gotten what he wanted.
    That reminded me I needed to speak to Odin about how they intended to punish the illustrious Dr. Lee, but for now, I lay within the arms of Eir's anaesthetizing drug while she cleaned up my stubs.
    At last, she rose and went to a nearby table to wash her hands, all the while watching me with her kind eyes.
    "Ah, you are still awake." Eir frowned. "I would have thought you would be asleep by now."
    "I’ve been pumped full of drugs for more than a week now. Maybe the painkiller you gave me will take a little longer than normal."
    "Yes. That does make sense." Eir nodded though she didn’t look happy. "I am sorry if you felt any pain."
    "It did make everything numb while you worked. It just didn’t make me fall asleep yet."
    Eir gave a small, relieved smile. "I have done what I can. The wounds are dressed, and the bone is as neat and smooth as I can get it. I am really sorry, Bryn, but only time will tell if your wings will grow back."
    I gave her an awkward nod. "I understand. I didn’t expect you to magically restore them. Thank you for everything you have done, my lady."
    Eir strode to the bed and sat beside me. "Oh, my dear Bryn, I really wish I could do more. I promise you, I will try and find out as much as I can. And you must come to me regularly so I can check if the bone is