The Valkyrie Returns and Slays (Raven)

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

+5

"Ahem... Raven, listen, Brigadier General Grayson's getting old, and, uh, he's not all there anymore. I'll say sorry for him," Lorne said, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward grin.

Then he even added. "And to make it real clear I'm totally against that stupid idea he had, I'm giving you a promotion."

"As of today, you're the military's fourth general!" he announced, his voice loud and firm.

The place burst into chatters.

The moment Lorne's words landed, it was like a shockwave hit everyone right in the head.

For a second, they thought they'd heard wrong.

The fourth general? Their minds buzzed with disbelief.

Vyrdenia's three current full-on generals were legends-people who'd fought hard

and spilled blood for the country's pride.

And in all of Vyrdenia's history, no one had ever made general before fifty.

But here was Lorne, handing the title to a girl barely past her teens.

He wasn't kidding-he was really doing this.

Next to Raven, Eddie just gaped at her, his jaw hanging loose.

He'd come from Regalhold to "lend a hand," full of himself and ready to play hero.

He'd thought he was the hotshot riding in to save the day-that's how he pictured it.

Yeah, Valhalla master, lieutenant general, whatever, he'd sucked it up and dealt with it.

But now they' were saying she was shooting up to a general rank he could only dream of? His head couldn't handle it.

Someone like that needing his help-he almost cracked up at the thought.

And since he got here, he hadn't done a thing.

like a fool at the start, telling Raven to run, he'd just stood there, quiet

been top dog among his buddies, wearing

right then, he

Raven's age and what she'd done, he-a guy who came to "help"-felt

walking into this, he'd have told his grandpa to forget it, even if

been scheming about calling her lieutenant general uncle, stopped cold,

tossed in Rex's face earlier-assumed Raven was maybe a major general, tops, given

was saying Raven was a

military general, just the four words

would throw a whole welcome bash for- big dinner, fancy setup, the

1/3

16:22 Mon,

Chapter 31

off as some nobody from a nowhere town. The ridiculousness of it slammed into

how she'd acted, she felt

it all figured out. Yet now, she realized she'd played herself-she let out a

Rex blinked out of his daze,

words hit him like a slap across

Raven down to colonel, and Lorne shot back by

insult,

as a plank, Rex turned and glared at

snagging a general's spot was already too much, as far as he

hit the military's top tier at

a position he'd never even let himself imagine, and it burned him up

take that

a lieutenant general, she could

top rank, unless she pulled some treason-level stunt or messed

all caution out the

each other before Lorne could shut him down. "Look, every general in Vyrdenia represents the

girl in that role, they'll think our military's a laughingstock. It could turn the nation upside down. Please, sir, don't play games with

down, his sharp eyes

look wasn't just annoyed-it was

could, Lorne would've stitched Rex's big mouth shut, hacked him up, and fed

all lined up.

chance was toast,

how stubborn Raven could be. Once she said no, that was that-no changing her mind today, no matter what

his third go at asking