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.

like a fool at the start, telling Raven to

his buddies, wearing that pride like

he felt tiny.

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

he'd have told his grandpa to forget it, even

been scheming about calling her lieutenant general uncle, stopped

earlier-assumed Raven was maybe a major general,

now Lorne was saying Raven was a

military general, just the four words made her mind

the Jennings family would throw a whole

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Chapter 31

written Raven off as some nobody from a nowhere town. The ridiculousness

how she'd acted, she felt like

now, she realized she'd played herself-she

blinked out of his daze, shaking his

words hit him like a slap across his

down to colonel, and Lorne shot

insult,

plank, Rex turned and glared at Raven, his resentment practically

spot was already too much, as far

hit the military's top tier at

let himself imagine, and it burned him up

wouldn't let her take that

lieutenant general, she

in that top rank, unless she pulled some treason-level

all caution out the window, he leaned forward, his face dead

shut him down. "Look, every general in Vyrdenia represents the military-and,

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

stared him down, his sharp eyes boring

just annoyed-it was

shut, hacked him up, and fed

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

toast, and

could be. Once she said no, that was that-no

third go at asking her,