Designed by Death

by Melody Rose

  Additionally, it offered a personal touch. It would make her grave stand out from all the rest. While I couldn’t list her accomplishments and talents on the stone itself, I could offer this representation of her in the best way I knew how.

  Mac’s face broke into a wide smile, all teeth when he saw that I had done. “Nice touch, Cheyenne,” he complimented.

  “I thought so,” I said, returning his smile but with less enthusiasm.

  “Do you want to say a few words?” the farmer offered me, holding out his hat in a wide gesture.

  I blinked at Mac as I was caught completely off guard. “I didn’t… I didn’t prepare anything.”

  “Just speak from here,” Mac said as he pounded a fist on his chest, just above his heart. “You didn’t get the chance to at the official funeral, but I think now would be the perfect time to do so.”

  Violet nodded her agreement, and Benji clapped his hands, encouraging me onward.

  “I think Erich would appreciate it too,” Ansel said gently from behind me.

  I gulped audibly, not knowing where to begin. I stared at the grass as though it would spell out a speech for me suddenly. When nothing happened, I realized that I needed to talk, say something, anything, before it got awkward.

  That was when Ansel reached out and touched my shoulder. I looked up into his perfectly chiseled face and smiled. He knew the right moment to remind me that I could do this. That I could do anything, even be vulnerable in front of the people I trusted most in this world.

  So I took a deep breath in and spoke my truth.

  “I didn’t know Erich very long,” I began. “I didn’t even know I had a half brother. But he was silly and sassy and everything I wanted out of a sibling. Except for maybe not being able to hug him cause, you know, he was made of fire, but it was still good.”

  That last part got a chuckle from some. I felt like I was seriously messing this up, but I took a deep breath and continued. “Erich was trapped for nearly a hundred years as punishment for something that he did. He never told me what it was, but I figure it had to be pretty bad to be punished like that for so long. The only way he was going to be let out of that punishment was by helping a child of Hephaestus.”

  I bit the corner of my lip as my inner eyes flashed with memories of Erich. I smiled and ventured forward. “And while, yes, he helped me in the way our father intended, he helped me in so many other ways. He made me laugh, gave me the verbal slap I need on occasion, and believed in me. He helped me so much more than he will ever know.”

  My memories traveled back to our moment in the forge at Agres’s villa when he helped me pull my head out of my ass and remind me that I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t destined to go on this adventure alone, build the Ultimate Weapon alone. It was a reminder I needed desperately, and I don’t know if I ever thanked him for it. So I took the opportunity to do so now.

  “Thank you, Erich,” I said to his grave, hoping he could hear me. “Thank you for helping me in every way possible.”

  I paused, letting my words hang in the air and giving myself a moment to breathe before I moved on.

  “Ruby,” I said, her name alone stirring up painful feelings in my chest. “That woman saw me before I even saw myself. She had this knack for saying just what I needed to hear, even if I didn’t want to.”

  Mac chuckled knowingly, lost in his own memory.

  “She taught me a lot about blacksmithing, but she taught me a lot about life, too,” I went on. “And love. Lots about love.” My eyes darted up to Ansel, unable to help myself. “She was crass and spoke her mind, but if there was one thing that woman knew, it was love. She loved deeply and was fiercely loyal.”

  Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I wasn’t sure I could continue for a moment. But I took a pause and found my strength again. “I was so lucky to be on her good side, to be one of those people that she was loyal to. One of those people that she loved.”

  I took that moment to look up at the people surrounding me, and as I met each of their gazes, I let the tears fall freely. “I want to be loyal the same way that she was. I want to love the way that she loved. And I know that with all of you by my side, I can do that. I am growing to be that person. And while I’m going to miss her so much, I know that it’s going to be okay. I’m going to be okay because I do have you.”

  I made sure to look at Esme as I said this. She looked up and met my eye. I wanted to make sure she knew she was included in this, no matter what had happened in the past. I watched her features soften as she witnessed the seriousness of my statement and that it meant her too.

  Then I thought about Ruby’s last words to me. How she said I was special and how I was going to save the world. I knew I wasn’t meant to do it alone, but something swirled inside my mind, a mix of Ruby’s words and Hades’s suggestion.

  I realized then that I couldn’t live up to the potential they saw in me if I just stayed here. I needed to go out there and finally start finding this destiny that everyone kept talking about. Maybe that started with finding someone else.

  Violet sniffled loudly, and Darren patted her arm gingerly. Benji swiped dramatically under his eye. Arges nodded for me to continue. It was as though the cyclops knew what I had to say next. As though he’d been reading my mind throughout my whole contemplation process.

  “I need to tell you all something,” I said, my tone changing as I changed the subject. The air seemed to shift around us, too, complimenting my words by cooling the temperature. “Next semester is going to be my last at the Academy.”

  “What?” Violet balked.

  “You can’t be serious?” Benji gasped as he stepped forward and dropped out of Zach’s embrace.

  “Cheyenne?” Darren questioned, not able to say more than my name.

  Esme stayed silent, but the shock was also written all over her face. Arges and Mac were the only two who didn’t react with surprise. They shared their own glance as if they knew this was coming.

  Ansel squeezed my shoulder. I felt the tension in his grip, but I put my hand over his and tapped it reassuringly. I knew that this would be like me going to Italy. Ansel might not approve right away, but he would support my decision because he loved me. I had that to rely on if nothing else.

  “What are you thinking?” Arges asked calmly. The cyclops put his hands behind his back and cocked his head, patiently waiting for my answer.

  “Yeah,” Benji jumped in loudly. “What are you thinking?”

  “I need to help Esme get back into the Military,” I began. “I refuse to leave her during that process, or I wouldn’t be coming back next semester.”

  Esme nodded in gratitude but still wouldn’t look me in the eye.

  “And we told you all about Eris and the threat she poses,” I continued, moving on to the bigger picture. “And no matter what we do, demigods are just not as powerful as the gods.”

  “Yeah, we know,” Violet said. “That’s why we need their help.”

  “But do you really think they are going to listen?” I countered. I held out my hands, growing more intense as I went on. “We can’t even get a hold of them most of the time.”

  “What about the Ultimate Weapon?” Zach stepped in, confusion written all over his face. “Won’t that defeat them?”

  “Eris has been trying to stop me and distract me at every turn. Creating chaos like she does.” I said with an eye roll. Then I changed my tone, growing more serious. “I need help in order to finish it. A god’s help.”

  “Because the only thing that can truly defeat a god is another god,” Darren said, the idea piecing together in his mind as he spoke. “You need someone to bless or enchant the weapon or whatever, like Hades did with the helm to make it invisible.”

  “Yes,” I said, drawing out the word.

  “Well, that’s just great,” Benji said as he threw up his hands. “Which one of the gods do you really think is going to help us? I know we’ve got Phaethusa on our side, but the Officials don’t exact
ly respect her.”

  It warmed my heart to know that Benji said “we,” and was not placing all the blame on me, although that’s one hundred percent where it laid. I cleared my thoughts and got back on track.

  “It’s because she’s a minor god,” I said slowly, “but I know of one of the Olympians that will help us.”

  “Who is that?” Esme asked, finally jumping into the conversation.

  “Hephaestus,” I said, playing my final card.

  Violet’s eyes shot up to her hairline. “You mean… you’re going to… no! Really Cheyenne?”

  “Yeah, really,” I confirmed with a sharp nod. “I’m going to find my father and get him to help us finish off the Ultimate Weapon.”

  A Note from the Author

  Hello, reader! If you read this far, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your time, and I hope that you loved Designed in Death! If you did, I wanted to let you know that it is very important that you leave a review.

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