The sky was vast and blue and the sea rolled on beneath it from horizon to horizon. Ada stood at the prow of the ship, wind ruffling her hair, and she licked the salty ocean air from her lips.

She gripped the bowsprit in one hand and leaned over the edge of the boat, her other hand out and floating on the wind. It was almost like flying and it made her nearly as giddy.

They’d been on the sea for a week now and were just one more day’s travel away from the island chain where Pasco’s pirate nation was based. Ada still couldn’t believe that the whole crew was so accepting of her dragon form. Pasco had explained that it was no surprise, a friendly dragon being seen as a sign of immense luck and fortune, especially to the superstitious sailors. 

She had even transformed on deck a couple of times, taking a short and exhilarating flight around the ship. But flying felt so good that she found herself edging just from the sensation of it, and so she’d been forced to cut her flights short. Pasco promised to teach her how to swim when they reached the island nation so that she could take a flight over the water without it being quite so dangerous.

Until then, she could stand at the bowsprit and feel the wind like this, and it felt enough like flying but didn’t threaten to send her to a watery grave. She was more than happy to sit at the prow of the ship and watch mile after mile of waves roll by. 

A rock formation emerged at the horizon, still distant. It slowly grew clearer and clearer. The crew hurried behind her and Ada felt a bit of guilty pleasure that she was the only one onboard who didn’t have a job to do.

Pasco came up behind her, apparently having briefly extricated himself from his duties.

Ada smiled at him, then returned to her curious appraisal of the rock formation. Beyond it, now just at the horizon, was a green smudge of land.

“Ready for some more rope play?” Pasco said.

Ada savored a little ripple of thrill. “Gah, are you trying to kill me?”

“I am actually trying to keep you alive, this time. That outcropping there? That’s home to the largest population of sirens this side of the sea.”

“Oh? You hadn’t mentioned before.” Perhaps it was just an excuse to tie her up? She certainly wouldn’t mind that being the case.

“Well, unsurprisingly, most pirates have at least a little bit of siren blood. The more siren’s blood you have, the less susceptible you are. It’s neither accident nor coincidence that the headquarters of the pirate kingdom is adjacent to the sirens’ foremost habitat. Helps keep out unwanted visitors.”

“I thought all the crashing ships stuff was just fairy tales.”

“Folks say the same about dragons.”

“Fair enough. But what does this have to do with rope play?”

“Well, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you don’t have any siren’s blood at all. Which would make you, well, quite susceptible. I should have said something earlier, but I’d honestly forgotten until Missa reminded me.” He blushed.

He looked so cute when he was embarrassed.

“Well, aren’t you allies or whatever? You can just make sure they don’t go too crazy.”

“It’s you going crazy I’m worried about,” Pasco said. “Like, jump off the ship and drown because you forgot to swim kind of crazy.”

“Well, I don’t even know how to swim to begin with,” Ada said.

“Exactly.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ada said, knowing full well that she would not be, but wondering if she could spur Pasco into being authoritative. She leaned slightly further off the ship, now looking for details on the rock. Real, live sirens? They were supposed to be gorgeous creatures with human top halves and fishes’ tails.

Pasco put his hand over her shoulder and pulled her back.

“Come with me, now,” he commanded.

A wave of heady pleasure washed over her, and she acquiesced. Though, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to still be a little bit sassy. 

“Okay fine. But I’m not convinced this isn’t just an excuse to tie me up.”

Ten minutes later, Ada was tied in classic fashion to the fore mast of the ship. Even though she was still clothed, she felt trussed up on display for all the crew to see, and she loved that.

Pasco had agreed to not entirely ruin her fun and at least give her a view of the sirens’ perch as they sailed by. She was securely tied from her shoulders, all the way down to her toes.

Ada wiggled, and then attempted to escape in earnest. She was fully trapped. That itself made her heart flutter a bit, but she trusted Pasco.

“Alright, one last step,” Pasco said, lifting up a ball gag.

“Oh yeah? I see how it is.” Ada mock pouted.

“Look,” Pasco said, pressing the ball of the gag between Ada’s lips. She complied. “This is for your own safety. You can be very persuasive, we all know.”

Missa and Forte were nearby and nodded solemnly, and Ada rolled her eyes dramatically but was secretly flattered. And, given that she really had been ready to go on a fiery rampage that night in the port city, she begrudgingly admitted to herself that Pasco’s caution was warranted.

Pasco leaned in closer to buckle the gag behind her head. “Plus,” he whispered in her ear, “I want to see you drool.”

Heat fluttered down Ada’s spine and she huffed at him, which was all she could do. Though the gag also hid the fact that she didn’t have any sort of clever quip to come back with, so it wasn’t all bad.

Then, she heard it.

A beautiful note, a woman’s voice, drifting over the breeze. They were still a good ways off and shouldn’t have been able to hear a single voice that clearly.

Another voice joined the first, weaving a lilting melody that was utterly captivating. Ada’s mind melted into it, riding the notes like a dinghy bobbing on the waves of the open ocean.

But then there was a flash of heat, like distant lightning on the horizon, a thrilling and threatening tone that quickened Ada’s heartbeat.

Though the crew were still out and about on the ship, they were somber, careful. A man with red hair and a broad build stepped towards the prow, but his friend grabbed his arm and he settled back. They both had growing erections pulsing against their trousers. 

Ada tried to observe more of the crew, but her attention was once again pulled back to the song and the rocky outcrop, like the needle of a compass pulled towards North.

The song grew louder, more insistent, pleading. Ada wanted to comply, to move towards it, to go deeper into the music.

She strained against the ropes. Pasco was just trying to ruin her fun! The sirens couldn’t possibly be dangerous — they were sexy, and sex was fun! All manner of arguments tumbled through her mind and she chewed on the gag. But she couldn’t quite say why she wanted to go, she wasn’t even feeling particularly aroused, she just… wanted to.

Her mind’s little boat paddled forward as the waves of music grew larger, swelling then dropping, cresting and crashing dangerously close. Another flash of heat like lightning — but now, right above her.

Then the desire kicked in. It started as a flush of heat down her body, a quickening of her heart rate. Her mouth watered around the gag, and as she leaned her head forward, straining against the ropes, drool dripped off the outside of the gag.

Her sex was just as wet and now throbbing. Her own wetness started to run down her leg and the sensation made her mouth water even more, saliva flowing around the gag and running down her chin.

Some part of her had expected the sirens to bring forth sexy visions, or to present themselves topless and gorgeous, or to otherwise provide some reason for the arousal — but there was none.

It was just the music, just the song, making her this way. She trembled against the ropes, half trying to escape, half just shaking.

Ada was vaguely aware of Pasco chuckling next to her, saying something like “I told you so” but she couldn’t think, couldn’t take her focus away from the music.

There were dozens of voices now, and they all wanted her. They asked for her breasts to ache, and they did. They asked for her sex to spasm, and it did. They asked for her toes to curl under, gripping at the wood, begging for some kind of release, and they did.

She was panting, heart racing, now hanging in the ropes as her legs gave out. The music swelled. Drool flowed freely down her chin, wetness down her legs, soaking her inner thighs and pooling at her feet.

Words flowed around her again, but she could barely comprehend them.

“… even more susceptible than I thought…”

“…are you sure she’ll be alright?”

“She’s secure.”

She couldn’t see anymore — at least, not the boat. She was floating in a dark, hot ocean. There was a little spark of light just ahead of her. The ocean was the song, the song was the ocean, and the little spark of light was the heat in her body.

She clenched her sex again and the spark brightened. She pressed her legs together, wiggled in the ropes. It was barely any sensation, but it would be enough. Gods, it had to be enough. If she didn’t come she would die. She couldn’t let the dark ocean swallow her, she needed that little spark of light. She needed to come, and then she’d be a dragon, and go wherever she wanted…

The dragon! The shock brought her back to herself. If she climaxed, there’s no way the ropes would hold her. She’d be gone. Surely, Pasco’s sense of security came from the confidence that there was no way that she could come this way, and had she not been so busy being coy, she would have reminded him that he needed to tie her so that she couldn’t press her legs together. She tried to return to her body’s awareness, to find his eyes, to somehow indicate to him that she was perilously close to orgasm.

But, all she could do was drool around the gag.

Gods she was so wet. She tried to stop wiggling, but then her body just trembled, which had the same effect. Every part of her body was now alight with erotic sensation — her tongue cupping the ball of the gag, the ropes pressing into her breasts, the fabric of her shirt over her nipples, the smooth wood of the mast against her ass.

But, she resisted. She had to resist. Distract herself. Do anything but come.

The song danced on the edge of crescendo, as if aware of her current plight, teasing her with anticipation.

Then, she realized, the song was aware of her current plight. It was teasing her. And she wasn’t resisting anything. The song was just having its fun. No matter how Pasco had tied her, it wouldn’t have mattered. The song, just by itself, was in complete control of her impending climax.

At that realization, a massive wave swelled beneath her, the inescapable rise of the true crescendo, and the little boat of her mind was tossed fully into the air.

There was no resisting this.

Ada screamed ecstasy into the gag as her core became the center of a ripple, like a droplet falling into a still pond, wave after wave of sheer melodic pleasure coursing through her body and the music still rising, rising, rising on one long crescendo.

Ada, now a dragon, stood panting on the deck for one still, silent moment. The shredded remnants of the gag rested between two of her hand-sized fangs. She flicked it off with the tip of her tongue and the gag fell to the deck.

She spread her wings and barely even needed to down-stroke as the strong ocean tailwind swept her up and carried her towards the rocks.

Ada heard Pasco’s cries of dismay behind her, but she did not comprehend them, her mind already gone in lust-drunk heat.

The previously still ocean had whipped up suddenly into a violent storm, grey skies and swirling clouds, buffeting winds and an icy mist of rain.

The rocks were lined with dozens of sirens, gorgeous and naked with their fishes’ tails, all singing, a jubilant choir in awe of that which they had summoned, the dragon coursing powerfully through their storm.

In their excitement they had not let the melody fall, and the dragon’s body still vibrated with the heat of need.

To the dragon, this was no issue. She could simply rub one out while on-the-wing and arrive at this curious place with plenty of energy left. She circled the knuckles of her back feet up to her slit in her familiar way — and gods was she so sensitive! Her own wetness dripped out, joining the rain on the wind.

The song peaked again and the dragon climaxed, roaring with delight into the keening wind.

But, as the dragon’s mind receded, Ada’s heart plummeted.

And then her body did.

Ada, now human again, dropped through open air towards the roiling sea below.

The song hushed.

Ada screamed.

And then the dark ocean swallowed her.