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.

a fool at the start, telling Raven to run,

dog among his buddies, wearing that

then, he

what she'd done, he-a guy who

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

who'd been scheming about calling her lieutenant general

seen the badge Raven tossed in Rex's face earlier-assumed Raven was maybe

Lorne was saying Raven was a general, just like

general, just the four words made her mind

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

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Chapter 31

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

she'd acted, she felt

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

Rex blinked out of

him like a slap across

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

insult,

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

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

hit the military's top tier at

let himself imagine, and it burned

wouldn't let her take that general spot-he

as just a lieutenant general,

she locked in that top rank, unless she pulled some treason-level stunt or messed up

didn't give a damn about Lorne's earlier threat. Throwing all caution out the window, he leaned forward, his

Lorne could shut him down. "Look, every general in

a nineteen-year-old girl in that role, they'll think our military's a laughingstock. It could turn the

his sharp eyes boring into

wasn't just annoyed-it

Rex's big mouth shut, hacked him up, and fed him to the

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

chance was toast, and Lorne was mad at himself for

how stubborn Raven could be. Once she said no, that

go at