Chapter 1
Sonata hummed as she bounced around the kitchen. It was her turn to make breakfast, so she was up early enough to wish her sisters good morning. Swaying her hips as she mixed the pancake batter, Sonata twirled around the modest kitchen as she continued her little tune. Making breakfast was her favorite part of the day. Aria was a night owl and Adagio was more an afternoon person, but Sonata loved the mornings. The sounds of the first birds and the slow rise of the orange glow from the dawn were two of her favorite things.
Leaning down to the oven, Sonata checked the muffins she was baking. Aria liked something warm in the mornings when she bothered getting up for breakfast and, since Sonata was the best cook of the three, she usually was up for Sonata’s food. The muffins just needed another few minutes and then they would be baked to perfection, moist and fluffy, just like something else Sonata had taken great pleasure in the night before.
Speak of the devil. Hearing a groan from behind her, Sonata grinned. It was most likely Adagio, since she had work that morning. With a lick of her lips, Sonata stood upright and turned. “Good morning, Beautiful~. How was your night~? Mine was wonderf-oh Celestia!”
Sonata paused in the middle of her morning serenade as she took in the visage of her big sister. Adagio’s eyes were bloodshot with dark gray bags hanging beneath them. Her usually glowing yellow skin had paled to a ghastly gray color and her voluminous mass of hair now lay flat and straight down her back. Clearly, the oldest siren sister had come down with something overnight and Sonata kicked into caretaker mode.
“Dagi, do you need me to get your axe?”
Adagio leaned against the kitchen’s doorjamb. “I don’t think I’ve been poisoned, Sonata,” she murmured. Sonata cringed. The sheer amount of mucus backed up in her sister was painfully obvious when she spoke. It was a miracle it wasn’t oozing out of h- oop, there it goes. “Just feeling a little under the weather. I’ll be better soon.”
“Looks like Murk Sickness,” the blue siren murmured, tossing her big sister a tissue. “ARIA! ADAGIO’S SICK!”
There was the sound of pounding footsteps and Adagio found herself with a purple face uncomfortably close to her own. Aria hummed slightly as she gazed at her older sister thoughtfully. “Yup,” she declared, sitting back. “Looks like Murk Sickness. Best if ya stay home, Dag.”
“Excuse me?” Adagio huffed. She regretted the action immediately as she fell into a coughing fit as mucus clogged her throat.
Aria patted her back and handed her another tissue. “You know if Murk Sickness gets to humans, it’s lethal. You remember it killed over twenty-five million of the useless monkeys back in the 1300s, and then it killed over ten million in the mid-1800s. Best to play it safe and stay with us.”
“Yeah!” Sonata chirped. “Worst that can happen to us is we get it, too. And by then, you’ll be all cured.”
Adagio shook her head as she grabbed a third tissue and blew her nose. “Honestly, you two. Both of those times were completely by accident. It’s not like I tried to cause two of the most well-known pandemics in the humans’ pathetic history. Their own fault for not having proper hygiene at the time. I’ll be fine going to work. Humans are, arguably, much cleaner now.”
Aria shook her head. “Not happening. You’re staying home so we can help you get better. I’ll call Truth.”
Adagio watched her magenta sister in indignation as Aria pressed one of her speed dials and Sonata finished up breakfast. The line rang for a few moments before a deep voice answered. “Hello?”
“Yeah, Truth? It’s Aria, Adagio’s sister. She got any clients waiting at the firm?”
On the other line, Truth checked the staff schedule across the room. “Ah, nope. She’s cleared for the day, why?”
“She’s callin’ out sick, bud. She’s got Murk Sickness. She should be better by tomorrow.” Aria cocked her head as she waited for Truth’s response.
The lawyer wondered what the hell Murk Sickness was, but decided not to press just in case she sent him pictures. Shrugging, he replied, “Alright then, Blaze. Keep’er til she’s better. We need all our attorneys on top of their game.”
“You got it,” the violette drawled. “Talk to ya later.” Hanging up the line, Aria turned to smirk at her sister, only to hear the front door closing. Both younger Sirens leapt up and raced after their big sister.
Adagio waited as the line rang and Truth answered, “Adagio?” Truth wasn’t going to question why the woman was calling him. It was no secret she greatly valued her work ethic, so the call was expected. Even so, he stood and moved to her office door where her board marked what she was doing at every given part of the day, from ‘at home’ to ‘on vacation’ to ‘jumping into an active volcano again’.
“Hey, Truth,” the eldest siren mumbled, swinging her keys on her finger as she headed for the garage. “Just letting you know I’ll definitely be in. Don’t listen to those knuckleheads. A little sickness won’t stop me from working.”
Truth was loath to say it, but Adagio sounded dead. Like a corpse stuffed with Jell-O. Biting his lip and wondering how to mention it as delicately as possible, Truth was startled when a shriek sounded from the other end of the line. As he stared at the phone, more shouting resonated from the tiny device.
“Sonata! Grab her legs before she takes my diaphragm out!”
“Hold her waist, Aria! She’s trying to hip-check my spine!”
“Adagio, get your fucking nails out of my stomach!”
“I will cook both of you for Thanksgiving! Let me go!”
“You are not going to work like this!”
“I’m strong enough to fight you two off, so I’m well enough for work!”
“That doesn’t count, Dagi! We’re going easy on you so we don’t hurt you!”
“Speak for yourself! Adagio, your nails!”
“Lemme go and I won’t claw out your entrails! Truth is on the phone! He knows I’m fine!”
Truth slowly inched his finger toward the magnet on Adagio’s board.
“She’s biting! She’s biting! Aria make’er stop!”
“Adagio, if you knee my fucking ass one more time!”
“I will smother you in your sleep!”
“Sonata, go get the rope!”
“This?”
“THAT’S THE HOSE, DUMBASS! Fuck it, toss it here!”
“SHE’S BITING AGAIN!”
“Grab our ball gag from the toy chest!”
“LET ME GO, YOU MORONS!”
“Adagio, I’M CUTTING YOUR NAILS WHEN WE’VE GOT YOU TIED TO THE BED!”
“I WISH MOM HAD TOLD DAD TO PULL OUT!”
“WE WERE ALL BORN FROM EXTERNAL EGGS, DIPSHIT!”
Truth gently moved the magnet onto the ‘Out Sick’ tab.
“SONATA! THAT’S A FUCKING TOWEL!”
“I couldn’t find the gag fast enough! All your whips were in the way!”
“Whatever, get it in her mouth before she bites one of us again!”
There was muffled screaming from the other line before it went dead. Truth waited a moment before pushing the magnet into the ‘On Vacation’ slot. Fully disconnecting the call, he made his way back to his desk, ignoring the odd glances from his coworkers.
Adagio half-pouted as she glared venomously at her sisters. They had switched out the towel for the ball gag once they arrived in the bedroom. Sonata sat atop Adagio as they wrapped chains around her body and the bed. Aria checked each padlock as she helped. Neither paid attention to their bleeding wounds, knowing they would all be healed in a few minutes.
“Ari, do you mind taking care of her for the day?” Sonata asked as she finished securing the thick chains.
“What? Why me?” the purple siren grunted as she padlocked the chains in place. “Can’t you do it?”
“I’ve got school,” Sonata reminded her. “And you work from home, so you’d be available for it.”
Aria rolled her eyes. She had been hoping to get to those new games she needed to test run, but she supposed that she could take care of her ailing sister instead. With a sigh, she nodded, “Alright then, I’ll do it. But if she escapes, it’s not my fault.”
“She’ll be fine,” her younger sister said flippantly. “We’ve got way stronger chains now than last time. And six padlocks instead of one!”
Aria conceded to that and glanced at the clock. “Speaking of school, you better get a move on. You’re gonna be late for first period.”
Sonata’s eyes widened and she dashed from the room, moving some of the paintings with her wind as she zoomed around getting ready. The slam of the front door five minutes later signaled her departure and Aria sighed again.
“I hope she remembered her skirt this time…”
Aria listened intently and when there were no signs of Sonata returning for any missing garments, she nodded. Adagio glared up at her and Aria smirked. “It’s a shame you’re sick, Dagi,” she chuckled. “I always like the thought of tying you up. Something to do when you’re feeling better?”
Adagio huffed against the gag and growled at her. Aria frowned and muttered, “Don’t bite too hard on that. Ya know I love that you can break a horse’s thigh bone with your jaws, Dag, but be careful. We’ll have to buy a new one if you break that one.”
Adagio descended once more into pouting. Aria watched her for a few minutes before sighing. “Guh, it’s still early and I have to sit with you for nine hours.” Adagio snorted. “Well, you’re not getting out of these chains, so why don’t I remove the ball gag and-.” An idea suddenly popped into the twin-tailed woman’s mind and she smiled. “I’ll remove it on one condition.”
Adagio felt her heart sink. One of the reasons she dreaded being sick. Her sisters loved taking advantage of this. Groaning, she jerked her head for Aria to continue. Her eyes widened at her new ultimatum. “I want a kiss when you’re all better.” Adagio ground her teeth against the gag before taking a deep breath through her nose and slowly nodding.
Aria internally pumped a fist in the air as she removed the ball gag. Her fingers didn’t have enough time to move away before Adagio craned her neck and bit into her sister’s hand irritably. Aria didn’t know she was capable of reaching an octave that high.
“If I get sick because of you…” Aria snarled, rubbing her smarting hand as she wiped down the gag.
“It’ll be your own fault for tying me up without permission,” Adagio huffed.
Aria raised an eyebrow with a sly grin. “We never ask permission.”
Her older sister ignored the heat rushing to her cheeks as she grunted, “But this isn’t you two trying to get in my pants… for once.”
“It’s for your own good,” the purple siren shrugged. “Now try to get some rest. I’ll leave both our doors open while I test out these games. Call if you need anything.” Adagio merely resumed her pout.
“Aria.”
Another zombie’s head exploded.
“Aria.”
There went one of the werewolf’s paws.
“Aria!”
Fuck, seventeen incubi at once? How was that fair?
“ARIA HESTIA BLAZE!”
The usage of her middle name—which was never to ever be spoken—jolted Aria from her gaming flow and caused her to pause her game before she died. Turning to the doorway, she called, “You had better have a good reason for mentioning that goddess, or I’ll give you a headache to go along with that runny nose.”
“You told me to call you if I needed anything,” Adagio mumbled back. She sounded even worse than she did a few hours ago.
Setting aside her controller, Aria stood and made her way back to her sister’s side. The bags under her eyes were darker, indicating that she had attempted and no doubt failed to get some sleep. A mess of mucus also pooled beside the bed, making Aria’s lip curl.
“Don’t make that face,” Adagio grunted. “I wasn’t going to swallow it and I can’t blow my nose like this.”
“Well, what is it that you needed?” Aria inquired, folding her arms.
“Hungry,” her sickened sister replied. “I missed breakfast and I can’t sleep, so maybe food will help.”
Aria was just about to turn when she noticed one of the padlocks was suspiciously limp on the chains. Shooting a glare to her sister, the twin-tailed woman went about checking the chains and locks. She secured them all back in place and relocked the four locks that Adagio had already picked. The yellow siren glowered at her for that, but said nothing as Aria made her way downstairs to find something to feed her ailing sibling.
What did someone sick eat in this realm? Adagio hadn’t been sick in a long time and Aria couldn’t remember what the home remedy had been back then. Rummaging around in the cupboards, Aria found a few things that might work. Hot sauce? It might clear her sinuses. Mayonnaise? Did Humans eat this stuff? Baked beans? Didn’t want Adagio to choke… well… not until she was feeling better anyway…
Pulling out something familiar, Aria stared at the can of chicken noodle soup. It worked for humans whenever the stupid monkeys had colds, so maybe it would work for Sirens with Murk Sickness? Shrugging, she opened the can and poured its contents into a bowl. Hopefully chicken was appetizing for Adagio; they usually ate red meat. Popping the bowl into the microwave, she turned the dial to three minutes and waited.
Carrying the now-steaming bowl of soup up the stairs, Aria shouldered her way into the bedroom and returned to her seat beside her sister. Adagio glared up at her blearily, her nose running slightly. Aria set the soup down on the dresser and took a few tissues in hand, holding them to her ailing sister’s nose. Adagio dutifully blew her mucus into the wipes, coughing slightly.
“Here,” Aria said after tossing the used tissues into the trashcan. “I got ya some chicken noodle soup. Apparently, it helps these pathetic mortals feel better when they’re sick. Maybe it’ll help you look less… gray.”
Adagio stared at her before looking at the bowl dubiously. Aria blew on a spoonful of the soup and held it out to her ailing sister. Adagio hesitantly accepted the food and rolled it around in her mouth before swallowing. It wasn’t too bad, but they didn’t usually eat fowl. Still, she accepted another spoonful from Aria, the middle siren doing her best not to spill any of the contents.
When the bowl was half empty, Aria set it back on the dresser, not wanting to hurt Adagio’s stomach by feeding her too much at once. As she wiped at her sister’s mouth with a new tissue, Aria noticed something odd about the fiery-haired woman. She appeared to be turning into a zombie.
“Okay…” Aria’s brows furrowed. “When I said it might help you look less gray, I wasn’t meaning for it to turn you green…”
There was a terrible discomfort in the sick woman’s belly. Adagio took deep breaths, not realizing it would make the feeling of discomfort even worse. Her stomach gave a rebellious lurch and she groaned, her discoloration deepening. “Bag,” she gurgled as her stomach gave another churning rock.
Violet eyes widened in horror. Aria couldn’t by any means boast having Sonata’s speed, but Adagio found herself staring at an afterimage of her sister as the middle siren sped from the room. She was back not even five seconds later with a bag, positioning it just where Adagio turned her head. The twin-tailed woman rolled her eyes as the sound of stomach contents hitting plastic filled the room and she was eternally thankful she wasn’t obligated to breathe.
As her sister’s heaving finished, Aria expertly tied the bag and tossed it into the trashcan as Adagio took more deep calming breaths. Rose-colored eyes turned to her once more and Aria noticed that her sister was just barely conscious. The convulsions must have exhausted her already tired body. Aria adjusted the blanket around the chains and watched Adagio sink into slumber.
The middle siren stared at her sister’s peaceful expression and thought, not for the first time, of how beautiful she was when she wasn’t worrying about something. The ever-present crease of her eyebrows and the troubled scowl were both absent, leaving behind the smooth flow from forehead to chin, Adagio’s luscious lips slightly parted as she took deep even breaths. Even with the pallor of her skin and the slight sweat she’d broken into, Adagio still remained one of the most beautiful creatures Aria had ever seen.
“You’re so lucky,” she whispered affectionately. “If you weren’t sick, I’d so prank you right now.”
She gained no response as Adagio snoozed on. Well, at least she was getting some sleep. The last thing they needed was an even crankier Adagio. Aria shuddered at the possibility. Hungry, sleep-deprived and sick? Nu uh, get her outta there.
Returning to her room, Aria continued with her game, easily maneuvering around the seventeen incubi coming for her. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been at the game for more than thirty minutes before she heard another call from Adagio’s room. Clearly, sleep was not favoring the eldest siren today. And humans had the gall to say the flu was bad?
Standing, Aria paused her game once more and made her way to her sister’s side. Adagio looked somewhat surly as she lay on the bed. The mess of mucus was growing, and Aria mentally made a note to get a bucket for when this happened again in another two hundred years. Lifting the blanket to check the chains, Aria cocked her head at Adagio expectantly.
“Aria,” Adagio murmured with a slight whine in her voice. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”
Warning bells of every kind went into overdrive mode in Aria’s head, the loudest one screeching “FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK-!” as quickly as it could. How was she going to do this? If she kept Adagio tied up and she was telling the truth, her sister would soil her bed and never let Aria hear the end of it. If she let her up and she was lying, Adagio would make a-probably unsuccessful-run for it. Aria needed to think carefully about this and-.
“Ari,~” Adagio groaned, batting her eyelashes. Aria’s mind ground to a screeching halt. “Please let me up? I really, really need to go. Won’t you do this one thing for me~?”
Aria couldn’t resist, not when Adagio was sick and using her oh-so-sexy charm and begging. Kneeling near the bedside, Aria swiftly unlocked five of the six padlocks, hesitating at the last one. Chancing a glance up, she found it to be a mistake as the smoky amethyst eyes of her big sister gazed back at her expectantly, a silent plea in their depths. Aria unlocked the last pad.
Without a second to lose, Adagio uncoiled the chains from around her figure and moved swiftly to the restroom. Aria listened intently, wanting to make sure the sickened siren didn’t try climbing out the window to escape. She had nothing to worry about, in that regard, because the door opened seconds later. Unfortunately, there stood Adagio… with an electric razor in hand.
Aria silently said goodbye to her life as she prepared for battle. It was a good day for an immortal to die.
“I’m home!” Sonata called happily, tossing her bag to the side and kicking off her boot. She’d forgotten the other one in her rush out the door, but it didn’t matter because she’d made it to class just before the five minute bell rang. “Ari? Is Dagi okay?”
Receiving no answer, the blue-haired siren slowly made her way up the stairs. Nothing seemed amiss on the landing, so maybe Aria had fallen asleep? Hopefully, Adagio was also sleeping if that were the case. Their big sis needed to be pampered more than usual today and Aria couldn’t be slacking off.
Sonata gently pushed the door open to Adagio’s bedroom and stopped at what she found inside. Aria lay grumpily on the bed, bound in thick chain with the ball gag shoved in her mouth. The room itself looked a mess, but the most notable thing was that Aria now sported a bob instead of her usual twin-tails.
“Ari?” Sonata asked, cocking her head. “What the Tartarus happened to your hair? And… where’s Adagio?”
Just as she posed the second question, Sonata felt a chill slide down her spine. A shadow appeared behind her and the youngest siren sister wondered if there was anyone she could pray to that would have mercy on her. Probably not.
Adagio descended upon her seconds later.
The neighbors, far used to the sounds of screaming and useless pleas during the night, were startled to hear such things from the Dazzling home during the day. With a roll of their eyes, several mothers opted to place headphones over their children’s ears as they passed, not wanting to answer awkward questions. Thankfully, the noise died down a little later and the slamming of a door could be heard. Unfortunately, the cries for help from a bound and gagged Sonata Dusk could not.
They really needed a better attack plan for the next time Adagio got sick.