Woven in Shadows (agatha x rio)

Drawn To Destiny

Chapter Nine: Drawn to Destiny

The pull was relentless, an invisible string tightening around Nessa's chest and urging her forward. Her feet moved as if possessed, carrying her down the quiet streets of Westview in the early morning light. She clutched her locket tightly, its warmth matching the strange heat coursing through her veins.

The small house came into view, unassuming yet oddly familiar as if it had been waiting for her all along. She stopped in front of it, her heart pounding in her ears. Her instincts screamed at her to turn back, but her body ignored the warning. Without a knock, without hesitation, Nessa pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The air inside was thick with tension, charged with the remnants of a spell. Two women stood near the center of the room, their gazes snapping toward her as she entered. Nessa recognized one instantly Rio, the dark-haired woman she had passed in the street yesterday. The other woman...

Her breath hitched. It was the lavender-scented woman from the coffee shop. The one who had tilted her head and smiled at her in passing. Except now, her eyes weren't warm or distracted they were sharp, piercing, and full of suspicion.

Nessa opened her mouth to speak, but before a single word could escape, her foot crossed an unseen line on the floor. The moment her boot touched the edge of the salt circle, the air around her shifted, and she froze in place. A faint shimmer of light rippled across the invisible barrier, trapping her within its confines.

"What the—" she started, but her voice faltered as the realization hit her. She couldn't leave.

Agatha stepped forward first, her eyes narrowing as she studied the girl. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice cold and clipped.

Nessa blinked, her heart racing. "I... I don't—"

"Don't play coy," Rio interrupted, her tone sharper than a blade. "We felt your energy. We know you're the one causing all this chaos. I told you when you first got here, don't make problems"

Nessa's head spun, her gaze darting between the two women. "I don't even know what you're talking about!" she cried, her voice cracking with desperation.

Agatha tilted her head, her lips pressing into a thin line as she observed the girl. "That's not an answer," she said smoothly, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of doubt. "What are you? Why are you here?"

"I'm nobody!" Nessa said, panic rising in her chest. "I didn't mean to cause anything, I don't even know what's happening to me!"

The interrogation continued, the questions flying fast and sharp, but Nessa couldn't give them the answers they wanted. Her exhaustion from the night's events was catching up to her, her body trembling as she tried to stay on her feet.

Finally, her knees buckled, and she fell to the floor with a soft gasp. The room tilted around her, her vision blurring as her body gave out. As she crumpled, the thin chain of her locket slipped free from her shirt, the small pendant glinting in the dim light.

Agatha's eyes widened the moment she saw it, her breath catching in her throat. She stepped back as if the sight of it had physically struck her. The locket swayed gently against Nessa's chest, identical to the one tucked away in a drawer upstairs a token she hadn't seen in years, but could never forget.

Rio noticed Agatha's reaction immediately, her brow furrowing. "What is it?" she asked, her voice low.

Agatha didn't respond. She stared at the girl in the circle, her mind racing, her carefully crafted defenses crumbling. It can't be...