Designed by Death

by Melody Rose

  Officer Buck was there, too, as the son of Ares. He hadn’t been too thrilled about Violet and me lagging so far behind during the run. He sent each of us death glares when we eventually returned to the dorms but didn’t say anything. I didn’t realize how much of a relief that was until I was safe in one of the bathhouses, rinsing off.

  Other Officials included Garth, the son of Demeter, DeAnne, the daughter of Artemis, Annika, daughter of Apollo, Min, son of Athena, and Clarissa, daughter of Hera.

  Jarred, Ruby’s brother, who I stood next to during her funeral, offered me a small nod and a slight smile when I entered the room. It was encouraging to see his acknowledgment, something I had never gotten before from the Official. His long blond hair was wrapped up into a man bun on the top of his head. It flopped about loosely as he examined my application.

  Then there was the General, who appeared to be a speed reader. I swore it took him less than six seconds to look at each page of my application as it passed in front of him. He would look down briefly, and then his eyes would snap back up to me, scrutinizing.

  I tried not to let his intimidating grimace and hooded gray eyes bother me too much. All I needed to get this request for study abroad passed was a majority vote. If he wasn’t in that majority, then it was no skin off my nose.

  Each of the Olympic Officials sat in order, in front of the insignia of their godly parents. The insignias were obvious: a bow and arrow for Artemis, a drop of water for Poseidon, a skull for Hades. There was an Official for each of the Olympic gods.

  Well, except for Hephaestus.

  The chair in front of my father’s symbol, a hammer, sat empty. There were thirteen spaces at the table because they counted Hades’s son, Maurice, as one of the Olympic Officials. He sat at the far end of the room with the other sons of the three famous brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Everyone else took their place in front of their parents’ symbol accordingly.

  I stood near the door, awaiting their judgment. Other than the Olympic Officials and myself, the four heads of the Military branches were in the room. Benji’s boyfriend, Zach, was also the head of the Gi Branch. Alongside him were Kiley and Samson, the heads of Nero and Aeras. Unfortunately, that also meant that my boyfriend, Ansel, the head of the Fotia branch, was here too.

  I refused to meet Ansel’s eye, which had not stopped glaring at me since I’d requested this review. In the midst of obtaining the application and rushing to get it filled out, I forgot to tell Ansel my plan.

  I knew it was a mistake. A big mistake. There was no way he was happy about the prospect of me spending the rest of the semester away from campus, especially when we had just gotten back together after a summer apart. It didn’t help that the semester together started off with Ruby’s death and me being obsessed with getting to the bottom of it.

  Now here I was, intentionally trying to go elsewhere for the next several months. And worse, I hadn’t even thought about him during the whole process.

  The General collected all of the papers and slapped the edges on the table, straightening the stack. He cleared his throat as Jarred passed him the final paper. The son of Zeus let the papers lay flat and untouched atop the table while he put his elbows on either side of the packet, fingers steepled as if in prayer. He rested the tips of his fingers against his lips and stared at me.

  I didn’t dare look away. I didn’t know what the General was examining me for, what he was searching for, but I refused to back down. I needed to get this study abroad opportunity. Not only because of my deal with Hades, but I didn’t know what I was going to do this year without a mentor.

  The Officials had trouble finding a replacement still, and as such, all blacksmithing classes had been suspended. The forge was temporarily closed until they found a replacement.

  I thought about offering to teach the classes, but Ansel informed me that it would be impossible.

  “You’re not a graduate and not a qualified soldier,” Ansel explained.

  “I’m more qualified than anyone they’re going to find,” I argued, pouting.

  “While that may be true, they’re still not going to let you teach,” Ansel reasoned as he kissed the side of my head.

  That had been yesterday morning, the morning of the funeral when he had been so kind and affectionate. I would be surprised if I would get the same treatment from him after this review was over.

  “Cheyenne Paulos,” the General said with a deep inhale. “You are aware that applications for study abroad programs for this semester were due at the end of last semester?”

  “Yes, sir, I was aware of this,” I said, making sure to be as straightforward and polite as I could manage. I needed this to go my way, and I couldn’t let my beef with the General get in the way of that if I could help it.

  “Then why did you request the review of this application, which was filled out…” The General flipped the front page of the packet over and briefly looked at it before returning it to the pile. “Three hours ago?”

  “Because I was hoping that you would make an exception,” I answered honestly, with my hands behind my back.

  The General grunted, not bothering to hide how he really felt about my response. “And what makes you think we would do that for you?”

  “Because of Ruby’s death,” I said, playing the highest card I had right away. Hopefully, if they understood this reasoning, then I wouldn’t need to play the rest of my hand.

  At the mention of her name, I saw Jarred’s shoulders tense, and the son of Poseidon’s eyes flicked away from me, towards the center of the table, as though he could stare at it hard enough to burn a hole in the wood.

  A couple of the other Olympic Officials reacted as well. Clarissa sucked in a sharp breath while Egan removed his monocle to clean it and shake his head. I heard Min mutter, “Shame.”

  “In light of her death,” I said, the words biting my throat as I said them. “I have no mentor or teacher for the blacksmithing classes. As you know, this is my main reason for being here, and Ruby’s help has been crucial in my development as a blacksmith.”

  “I thought you were already the best blacksmith on campus,” the General sneered, throwing my own words back at me from when I was first in this room.

  “I am,” I assured the son of Zeus. “However, you can always learn something from your elders, and unfortunately, you all have closed down my main workspace.”

  “Until we can find a replacement,” Maurice assured me as if that was going to happen tomorrow and not on some indeterminable date.

  “And when will that be?” I asked, directing my question at Maurice with a cock of my head. “Because from where I stand, finding Ruby’s replacement doesn’t seem to be a priority.”

  “We were trying to let a respectable amount of time pass,” Clarissa jumped in, defending her colleagues and their choice.

  “And as much as I respect that decision, I believe it is a detriment to the students of the Academy, mainly me,” I said frankly with a simple shrug of my shoulders. “If you want me working on the Ultimate Weapon, you need to let me in the forge.”

  There was a silence as the Olympic Officials absorbed my words. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zach lean over to Ansel and whisper something in his ear. Ansel replied to the Gi leader out of the side of his mouth, but I couldn’t make out the words. I returned my focus to the officials, knowing that I was only a few steps away from my final argument.

  “My study abroad request is the solution to many of these problems,” I continued. “You don’t want to open the forge without a teacher, but you want to give a respectable amount of time to Ruby’s memory before replacing her. If you send me, the only person on this campus who cares about working in the forge, away, then you can be on your own timeline for replacing her and open the forge when you see fit.”

  “You have to see, Cheyenne, that this is an unusual request,” Egan piped up. “All the students who are studying abroad have already been approved and are already set up. You would be
behind.”

  “I was behind when I first came to the Academy,” I replied. “It wouldn’t be anything new for me. And I know it’s unusual, but this is an unusual request. No one expected Ruby to die so suddenly, did they?”

  Without shame, I aimed this question right at the General, who met my gaze without fear. My undercut wasn’t well hidden, but if the General picked up on it, he didn’t let on that he did. I watched the General’s broad chest move up and down in a steady rhythm, completely unphased by me.

  “We understand the need for you to work on the Ultimate Weapon,” Maurice reasoned, looking at the tension between his brother and me. “Perhaps we can open the forge sooner than expected or grant you access for the time being?”

  “It’s not just Ruby’s absence,” I argued, playing the final card in my pocket. “I believe that there isn’t going to be a single teacher in the Academy who can teach me more than the original blacksmiths. They have skills I’m not going to learn anywhere else. They could give me the final piece needed to finish the Ultimate Weapon.”

  Another round of silence settled in the room. The Olympic Officials exchanged looks, debating without words about my points and my proposal. The only two that didn’t seem to be on the fence about anything were Jarred and the General. Neither one of them looked at their colleagues to discuss their thoughts. Jarred continued to look at the table, and the General never took his eyes off me.

  For the first time, I was unsettled by the General’s gaze. Something about the hardness told me that I was on the losing end of this. A sinking feeling attacked my stomach. Could Violet be right? Despite what the other Olympic Officials thought, could the General’s hatred of me really prevent me from moving forward with this plan?

  “Thank you, Cheyenne, for your proposal,” Maurice said suddenly, surprising everyone by taking charge. “We will continue to deliberate and then put it to a vote. As you know, there has to be a majority in order for your proposal to be accepted. A tie counts as a loss, and your request will not be approved. Do you understand?”

  “I do,” I answered.

  “Good,” Maurice said with a confirming nod. “Then you may wait outside until we reach a decision. Leaders, you may each share your opinions with the officials and then leave as well.”

  I glanced over at the four leaders of the branches and shot them a hopeful smile. Zach returned it graciously, and I knew I had his support. Kiley and Samson were unreadable, but then again, I didn’t know them that well, so it was a toss-up. Ansel, on the other hand, kept his expression hard and let his hurt shine through his eyes.

  It hit me directly in the heart, like one of Artemis's arrows. He didn’t support this decision, and I knew it. He also could tell that half of my answers were completely for the council’s benefit. Ansel knew me well enough to sense that something else was going on beneath the surface.

  I looked away from the son of Apollo and walked out of the room before I could say anything that would postpone the council’s deliberations.

  When I exited the room, I saw Violet, Benji, and Darren waiting in the small waiting area. The three of them stood when they saw me and instantly crowded around me.

  “What are you all doing here?” I asked, completely surprised by their presence.

  “Violet told us what was going on,” Benji explained.

  I raised my eyebrows at Violet, silently asking if she told them the whole story. Violet squared her jaw in disapproval, but she did shake her head. So she might have told the boys that I wanted to study abroad, but she didn’t tell them about Erich or my deal with Hades.

  Relief soared through me, and I managed to put on a genuine smile at seeing my friends.

  “We can’t believe you want to go all the way to Italy!” Benji said excitedly as he took my hands in his. “I mean, I know why you want to go to Italy, because Italy! But it seems so crazy.”

  “It’s not crazy,” Darren stepped in to reassure me. “It makes perfect sense. I’m just sad that you’ll spend the semester away.”

  “You really think they’ll say yes?” I asked, my own insecurities and doubts catching up to me.

  “Of course they will!” Benji said, wrapping me up in a brief but reassuring hug. “It makes no sense why they wouldn’t. With what happened with Ruby and everything, you should definitely have a chance to still learn and grow as a blacksmith. This is the best way to do that. Even if you have to go all the way to freakin’ Italy to do it!”

  “Man, you’re really hung up on this Italy thing,” I said with a chuckle to mask my own nervousness about traveling across the ocean.

  “Because it’s Italy!” Benji said as though that point was obvious. “Not just Italy, Sicily. You’re going to love it. The food. The people. The landscape. The wine. The Italian men.” Benji’s eyebrows bounced up and down suggestively. “It will be a miracle if you come back.”

  This comment brought an actual laugh from me. “I don’t think I’ll love it that much.”

  “Speaking of men,” Violet interrupted Benji’s exuberance. “What did Ansel say when you told him?”

  “He…” I started, but then the door opened behind us, saving me from having to answer.

  The four branch leaders stepped out of the door to the council room, one by one. Zach reached out and grabbed my hand with a reassuring squeeze before greeting Benji with a quick peck on the lips. Kiley and Samson each nodded at me politely before leaving the building completely. Ansel brought up the rear, and upon seeing him, I held my breath.

  His face was still stony and grave. He didn’t meet my eye right away, but his anger was palpable, like thick humid air.

  Smartly Zach grabbed Benji’s hand and said aloud to the group, “Why don’t we wait for these two love birds outside? I’m sure they have a lot to talk about.”

  Benji and Darren followed suit after offering me waves and final words of encouragement. Violet opened her mouth to say something but simply closed it and shook her head instead. Then she followed behind the others, leaving Ansel and me alone in the waiting room.

  I inhaled and exhaled audibly. “Look, Ansel, I--”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked, cutting me off. My bright blue eyes met his green ones, which were narrow and accusing.

  “It… it all happened so fast,” I said lamely, even though it was true.

  “Where did you get this idea, anyway?” Ansel questioned. His voice was low and full of disappointment. The tone cut me to the core. I almost would have preferred it if he had yelled at me, even though I knew he wouldn’t dare do that with the Olympic Officials on the other side of the door.

  “Eros told me about it,” I admitted. “Last year, when I was making his bow and arrow.”

  “And Gods, Shy, you thought now would be a good time to go all the way to Italy?” Ansel ran a hand through his hair and then stuffed it back into his pocket defiantly. “We just… I thought we were going to spend the semester with each other.”

  “I wanted to, I really did,” I said, desperately trying to get Ansel to believe me. “But then things changed.”

  “What changed?” Ansel demanded.

  “Ruby’s death changed everything!” I said, not realizing how loud my voice had gotten. I paused, taking care to measure it back to a normal volume. “You know how much that affected me.”

  “So, instead of dealing with it, you’re running away?” Ansel accused as he pushed his shoulders back. He got a sudden burst of confidence, as if he figured out the real reason I was doing this. “Is this where you went last night? Instead of going to the bathhouses like you said? You went to figure out how to run as far away as possible?”

  “That’s not it,” I tried to argue, but my words felt futile. Was I really going to tell him the real reason? If he thought this study abroad request was ridiculous, how was he going to feel when I told him the truth about why I was doing it?

  “Then tell me, Shy, what’s going on?” Ansel asked, his voice breaking into a beg. “Because w
hile you might have been telling some of the truth in there, you and I both know that was a bunch of bullshit.” He pointed with a stiff arm towards the door, back where the Olympic Officials were still deliberating. Then, unexpectedly, Ansel’s face fell, and his voice broke. “Does it have something to do with us? With me?”

  “No!” I rushed to reassure him. “That’s not it at all.”

  “Then what?” Ansel questioned. “I mean, gods Shy, did you even think about us when you made this decision?”

  “I--” I didn’t know what gave me pause. Because the truth was, no, I hadn’t thought about him at all. But I was already lying to him, and I didn’t feel like piling it on. However, before I was able to come up with something to say, Ansel seemed to take my silence as an answer.

  “You didn’t, did you?” Ansel concluded. I reached out for him, but he turned away, out of my reach, and braced himself against the wall with one arm, the other one paused on his hip.

  “I’m sorry, Ansel,” I said, my voice weak.

  My boyfriend inhaled sharply before replying. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, Cheyenne, but it concerns me. I know Ruby’s death has messed you up, and maybe that’s all this is. But you can’t go running away like this. You just can’t.”

  Right then, at what I considered to be the worst possible timing, the door to the council room opened, and Annika, Ansel’s sister, stood on the other side. She looked between the two of us, sensing the tension but refusing to acknowledge it.

  “Congratulations, Cheyenne,” she said as she held out my application, stapled once again. “You’ve been approved to study abroad in Italy this semester.”

  13

  The sun barely peeked out over the horizon in the early morning of my departure date. Khryseos and Argyreos followed behind me, moping along. I turned around and walked backward, beckoning them along.

  “Come on, boys,” I called to them. “I know you’re not happy with this, but Mac’s going to take good care of you.”