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I wiped the sleep from my eyes. Only a select few had access to my personal quarters, and only one would dare disturb my slumber.
Harry.
Sure enough, his familiar voice rang out, "It’s urgent."
I pulled on a dressing gown and grumbled, "Enter."
Without hesitation, he threw open the doors and panted, "Queen Liliana of the Sun Court has arrived. She awaits your audience."
"Queen Liliana?" I repeated.
He nodded. "She’s only just arrived."
"But why? She’s not on my schedule." And even if she were, I’d have never scheduled her at this hour. I stared at him pointedly. "Are you aware of the time?"
I had more troubles than just the soul rot that might kill me. I was twice cursed, and there was a troublesome time limitation involved in the second.
"Forrest, I know."
"And yet…"
He sighed. "She is of the Sun Court. You know they retire at sunfall. If you are to accommodate her, it must be now."
"We have but minutes," I insisted. "Send one of the advisors instead."
He bit his lip. "I considered this. Unfortunately, the first to volunteer was Hawthorne. The others approved it."
I groaned. "We can’t send him."
"I know," Harry repeated.
I took a deep breath and then released it all at once. "Fine, but we must move quickly."
"The kitchens have already been alerted. Her ladies-in-waiting as well. She will meet you out on the Sunrise Veranda. You need only get dressed."
The Sunrise Veranda was a part of my private wing. That meant I could return to my chambers quickly, and should something go wrong, few would see. Harry had truly thought of everything. I nodded my agreement.
"I’ll serve the ladies tea while you dress," he said.
"Move swiftly," I warned.
"Same to you," he said as he disappeared out the door.
Not ten minutes later, I was sitting in twilight. Will-o'-the-wisps vanished and reappeared like lightning bugs on the dark horizon. Candles burned on an elegantly dressed table.
Queen Liliana was waiting. She rose as I approached. "My dear, Forrest," she greeted me. "I am surprised to be welcomed so early in the morning. I was under the impression your court slept in."
I kissed her hands and gave her my most charming grin. I am a fae, so of course, I couldn’t lie. However, the right truths found their way to my lips with ease. "Queen Liliana, when I heard the news of your arrival, it was all I could do to stop from running down the hall."
Indeed, I did force my footsteps to remain slow and steady. For, I had minutes, not hours, before this entire sham fell apart.
Upon the sun’s rise, I would turn into a frog.
Many fae changed forms. The selkies changed from women into seals. It was rumored a nearby court’s princess changed into a swan. However, my change was not elective.
I bore a witch’s curse.
From sunrise until sunfall, I became a frog.
