The Valkyrie Returns and Slays (Raven)

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

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"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.

shouting like a fool at the start, telling Raven

his buddies, wearing that

he

he-a guy who came to "help"-felt

he was walking into this, he'd have told his grandpa

who'd been scheming about calling her lieutenant general

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

Lorne was saying Raven

just the four words

whole welcome bash for- big dinner, fancy setup, the whole

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16:22 Mon,

Chapter 31

a nowhere town.

she'd acted, she felt like

had it all figured out. Yet now, she realized she'd

Rex blinked out of his daze, shaking his

words hit him like a slap

suggested bumping Raven down to colonel, and Lorne shot back by making her Vyrdenia's

straight-up insult, and he

turned and

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

at

never even let himself imagine, and it burned him up

her take that general spot-he promised himself

a lieutenant general,

rank, unless she pulled some treason-level stunt

out the window, he leaned forward,

rushed out, words tumbling over each other before Lorne could shut him down. "Look, every general in

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

him down, his sharp

look wasn't just annoyed-it

big mouth shut, hacked him up, and fed him to the

everything up today, this would've gone smoothly-perfect timing, all lined up. He'd had at least

to this clown, that chance was toast, and Lorne was

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

was his third go at asking