Agatha Harkness's Arc

Chapter 5 of 21

Wanda's counsel was clear. Summon Peter first. Offer the price yourself. But Agatha had no way to reach a fae king across the veil. The debt sat in her chest like a stone. Peter could come whenever he chose, and she could not knock on his door. She needed a summons, and she knew only one creature who had ever held a piece of him. Agatha went to the sea. She left the forest and walked down to a cold shore where a shell-domed lair rose from the tide. Ursula lived there, and Agatha knew her by reputation only. The sea goddess collected voices, names, and souls from those foolish enough to bargain in open water. She had also, long ago, been Peter's secret wife. If anyone could pull the Never King to shore, it was the woman he once loved. Agatha found her inside, stringing pearls onto a drowned statue's finger. Ursula did not turn. "You want something," Ursula said. Flat. Not a question. "A way to summon Peter." Agatha kept her hands still. "I owe him a debt. I want to name the terms before he does." Ursula set down a pearl. Her black eyes fixed on Agatha. "He'll come for you no matter what." "I know. That's why I need to choose the ground." Ursula studied her a long moment. Then she reached into a coral cabinet and drew out a small thing wrapped in wet cloth. She unfolded it. A charm, pale and hooked, carved from something that might have been bone. "His name is inside this. A true name. Speak it over your own threshold. He'll come." Agatha reached for it. Ursula closed her fingers. "A price," Ursula said. "Name it." "Your name for his." Ursula's voice did not soften. "I keep yours while the charm holds his. When your debt with Peter clears, you get it back." Agatha felt the trap close. A name was no small coin. But a summons in hand was worth the risk of a locked name. She would rather owe the sea witch than lose her future to the king. "Done," Agatha said. Ursula pressed two fingers to Agatha's throat. Cold spread there. Agatha felt her own name lift out of her, thin as smoke, and vanish into the goddess's palm. When she tried to say it in her mind, she found only a blank space. Ursula opened her other hand. The charm sat there, warm now. "Yours." Agatha took it and folded the cloth over the hook. She climbed back up the shore with the summons in her pocket. She had what she came for. She could call Peter to her manor, on her ground, at a time she chose. But her name now lived in a sunken cathedral, hostage until the king's debt was paid. She had traded one debt for two.