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, he'd just stood

always been top dog among his buddies, wearing that pride

right then, he felt tiny.

and what she'd done, he-a guy who came

his grandpa to forget

scheming about calling her lieutenant general uncle, stopped cold,

Rex's face earlier-assumed Raven was maybe

Lorne was saying Raven

the four words made

was someone the Jennings family would throw a whole

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16:22 Mon,

Chapter 31

a nowhere

back at how she'd acted, she felt like

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

blinked out of his daze, shaking his

him like a

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

a straight-up insult, and he

stiff as a plank, Rex turned and glared at Raven, his resentment practically oozing

a general's spot was already too much,

military's top tier at that

never even let himself imagine, and it

wouldn't let her take that general spot-he promised himself

just a lieutenant general, she could still drop

rank, unless she pulled some treason-level stunt or

about Lorne's earlier threat. Throwing all caution out the window, he leaned forward,

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

we've stuck a nineteen-year-old girl in that role, they'll think our military's a laughingstock. It

his sharp

look wasn't just annoyed-it was past

Rex's big mouth shut,

timing, all lined up. He'd had at least a decent shot at her

to this clown, that chance was toast, and Lorne

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

his third go