Summer's Solstice

Chapter Six

Liv pressed her sword to Killian's throat, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he sat on the ground staring up at her in wonder and brazen astonishment. Liv would have laughed if she didn't find it so insulting that he really thought her so weak and incompetant.

"What's the matter? Never had your ass kicked by a girl before?" Liv teased, pulling her sword away and extending a hand to help him up. Killian brushed the hair that had fallen loose from his updo away from his face and straightened the band on his forehead. He grasped Liv's hand in his own and shot up, a boost of wind aiding in his ascent. Killian tensed his jaw and brushed at his clothes before answering,

"A woman? Of course. I am not like the men of this plane, women are more than capable of being formidable warriors. By a child? That is another matter entirely," Killian spoke, finally glancing up at Liv. She took note of the faint reddening of his cheeks and stifled the giggle.

"What are you anyway? Four - Five years older than me? You can't be more than twenty-five?" Liv questioned him. Killian raised a brow and huffed out a breath, rolling his eyes.

"Try two hundred and five, next month actually," Killian responded, once again spreading his legs a hips breadth apart, readying his sword and nodding for Liv to do the same. Liv's jaw dropped as she stared at Killian, her eyes wide as realization slowly washed over her.

"You can't possibly be serious. Two hundred and five? That's not possible!" Liv screeched, her sword forgotten at her side for the moment. Killian sucked his teeth. He relaxed his posture, resigning himself to the life expectancy lecture he would now have to give. Liv had the grace to feel embarrassed that she knew so little about her own people. She couldn't believe she was still so far behind, it felt as though for each step forward she was thrown ten steps back.

"It is entirely possible with our lifespans. Yours is uncertain at this moment, you have yet to reach the change therefore we do not know if you will be granted the immortality of your fae roots or if you shall be cursed with a human lifespan like that of your father's people," Killian supplied studying Liv's face. She was surprisingly calm for someone who had just learned that she could live for as long as time itself. She shook her head and took a deep breath.

"So you can't die?" Liv asked, Leland suddenly flashing in her head. The giant hole she had carved into his chest with the ice shards one moment and the lack of a body the next. Killian shook his head.

"We are not impervious to death. We can die but only from a mortal wound. Some of us choose to leave after a few millennia, whether it is the loss of a mate or a child... immortality does not appeal to us all," Killian paused for a few moments, his eyes focused on some place far away. He continued after a moment, "It is why there are so few elven children. You and your friends are the first to be born since my group actually. There must be so many deaths before children are allowed, well you would have been allowed anyway, a queen must have an heir after all," He finished, once again spreading his legs and presenting his sword.

Liv thought on the subject for a moment. She shook her head and shifted into a fool's guard stance. Her legs spread shoulder width apart, her right foot leading, as her sword pointed towards the ground. Killian smirked and rushed forward. For the next few hours all that could be heard was the clash of metal, and the grunts from the two trading blows.

From the house on the hill, Keiran watched the two spar, his heart heavy. Keiran knew that Liv couldn't stand Killian in the beginning but it seemed like something between them was shifting. Still, he had a duty to his Queen. If he was to serve Erindus well then he had more to learn and perfect. One day, when Erindus saw him as a capable guard like Killian, then he would have earned Liv's love. In the meantime, he would have to watch as Killian and her grew closer. He knew loving a princess would never be easy, but he never thought it would feel like losing.