Morning light crept through the high window slits. Gray. Cold. I woke up sore from sleeping on the thin cot. Cock morning-hard again, tenting the blanket. I ignored it. Rolled out. Stretched. Joints popped.
Kael was already up. Doing push-ups on the floor of her cell. Slow. Controlled. Muscles flexing under her scarred skin. Lira sat cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing deep like meditation.
I rubbed my eyes. Voice rough from sleep.
"Morning."
Kael finished her set. Sat back on her heels. Sweat on her forehead.
"Morning, hero. Sleep okay with that monster between your legs?"
I snorted.
"Barely. Keeps waking me up."
Lira opened her eyes. Smiled lazy.
"Poor thing. Want help with it?"
I shot her a look.
"Not with bars in the way."
Kael laughed. Short.
"Keep dreaming."
I sat on the edge of my cot. Looked between them.
"Yesterday you mentioned the First Pioneer. Mara. Or Maria. The woman from Earth. Tell me more. What did she actually do here?"
Kael wiped her face with her sleeve. Leaned against the wall.
"She was the real deal. Summoned fifty years back. Same ritual as you. Queen's mother did it. Monsters were winning hard. Rifts opening everywhere. Villages burning. She came through confused. Scared. No powers. Just brains."
Lira nodded.
"She spoke our language right away. Like you. Said her world had no magic. But she had knowledge. Started small. Taught us how to boil water clean. How to make soap from fat and ash. How to build better walls – stone instead of wood. Stopped half our sicknesses in the first year."
Kael picked up the story.
"Then weapons. She drew pictures. Crossbows with better triggers. Catapults that threw farther. Gunpowder. Didn't have the materials for real guns, but she showed us black powder mixes. We made crude bombs. Blew up a troll nest. First big win in decades."
I whistled low.
"Damn. She changed everything."
"Yeah. She wrote books. Hundreds of pages. Math. Engineering. Biology. Tactics. How to organize armies. Supply lines. Scouts. She made the first real map of the rifts. Predicted where they'd open next. Saved thousands."
Lira added soft.
"She lived in the palace at first. Advisor. Then she moved to the Elder Spire when she got old. Still there. White hair now. Walks with a stick. But her mind sharp. People visit her for advice. She never married. Never had kids. Said her world had enough people already. Focused on ours."
Kael smirked.
"She warned about men. Said they start wars. Steal. Lie. But also invent. Build. Fight. She said if we summoned one, watch him close. Don't let him rule. But don't kill him quick either. Knowledge is power."
I rubbed my chin.
"So she's the reason you all know about Earth stuff. Cars. Internet. Pizza."
Kael nodded.
"She described pizza once. Made the cooks try it. Flat bread. Tomato sauce. Cheese. Herbs. We still make it sometimes. Call it Pioneer Pie."
I laughed.
"Nice."
Silence for a second.
I looked at Kael.
"And you and the queen. You said you were close. Before the corruption."
Kael tensed. Looked away.
"Yeah."
Lira raised an eyebrow.
"You never talk about it."
Kael sighed. Voice low.
"It was friends first. Training together. Late nights. Sparring. Laughing. Then one night after a raid win… too much ale. We ended up in her chambers. Clothes off. Hands everywhere. Mouths. Fingers. She rode me on her fingers while I ate her out. Hard. Messy. We did it for months. Secret. No titles. Just two women who needed release."
She shrugged.
"Friends with benefits. More benefits than friends sometimes. Then the dagger happened. Corruption made me crazy. I almost hurt her. She stopped me. Cried. Locked me up the next day. Said it was for my safety. Hers too. Haven't spoken since."
Lira looked sad.
"She visits the block sometimes. Stands outside your cell. Watches you train. Never talks. Just leaves."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Yeah. I know."
I stayed quiet for a minute.
"That's heavy."
Kael looked at me.
"Don't pity me. I earned this cell."
I nodded.
"Not pity. Just… sucks."
She snorted.
"Life sucks. Get used to it."
Lira leaned toward the bars.
"And you, Hunter? You going to fix any of this? Or just keep getting handjobs through bars?"
I smirked.
"Working on it."
Kael laughed.
"Good luck. Queen's not easy to crack."
I lay back. Cock twitching at the thought of Andria's body on mine. Grinding. Wet. Teasing.
Old hero from Earth. Pioneer. Changed the world.
Kael and the queen. Old flames. Broken trust.
Me. Stuck in the middle. Monster cock. No powers. Just questions.