Page 11 of Shadow Prophet (Scythe Grove Academy 2)

"I'm glad I could help." She beams. "We have an appointment about this file." She slides a piece of paper across the desk to him.

He nods, probably having expected this given that he's the reason we have an appointment in the first place.

Nerves assault me from every direction. This could be it. The answer to where I came from. I'm not sure what good the knowledge will do me when I don't have any memories of any members of my family, but maybe knowing something about them will help with that. It might give me an answer to how I ended up in the Shadow Association's care in the first place.

George taps on the keys. "I've set you up with Agent Fielding. She deals with a lot of the missing supernatural reports."

"Missing?" I echo.

He ignores me, probably because has no idea who I am.

"I've informed her you're here, she should be with you in a moment. Why don't you take a seat?" He gestures to some surprisingly comfortable chairs across from the desk.

"Thanks, George, I owe you one," Juliet says.

"You never owe me a thing," he counters.

We make our way over to the seats. Despite how inviting they look, I sit on the edge, my leg bouncing up and down as the reality of what we're doing here sinks in.

"What did you do for him?" I ask, desperate to take my mind off things.

"His brother's finacée was human and died. She got stuck between this world and the next."

"What was her unfinished business?"

Sadness crossed over Juliet's face. "

She wanted to finish picking out her wedding dress and have her fiancé see her in it."

"Oh."

"It was hard. Not the picking part, that bit was relatively easy. We found a dress shop owner who understood what we wanted to do, and she let us do a private fitting. It was the first time I ever saw myself in a wedding dress..."

"I hope Tobias didn't see." My attempt at a joke falls flat, even to me.

Despite that, Juliet chuckles. "He did, actually. But we weren't dating at the time so I don't think it's bad luck."

"How did you do the second part?"

"George's family are witches. They created a projection of Sandrine over me so his brother could see her in the dress. His face...I've seen all kinds of emotions doing this, but that was the first time I'd seen heartbreak. But it helped them all get peace, and that's the important thing."

Ah. I can see how that would have an impact on everyone involved.

Before I can change the subject to something more cheery, a woman approaches us. Her well-fitted suit and tight bun say that she's not to be messed with. The points of her ears sticking through her neatly parted hair reinforce that even more.

Everyone knows not to mess with a fae. I may have grown up with no clue about being a reaper, but I'm not clueless about the supernatural in general. It's impossible to be when everything about society is integrated.

"Good morning. I'm Agent Susan Fielding, you must be Miss Dixon," she says.

Juliet is on her feet in seconds and holding out her hand to shake the other woman's. It's hard to remember Juliet is only nineteen sometimes. She has the maturity of someone a lot older.

Perhaps it's the effect of dealing with death all the time.

"You can call me Juliet," she says. "And this is my friend, Syxe."

Agent Fielding nods. "Good to meet you. Why don't you come through to my office and I'll share the case file with you."

"Thanks."