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.
Besides shouting like a fool at the start, telling Raven to run, he’d just stood there, quiet and useless.
He’d always been top dog among his buddies, wearing that pride like a medal.
But right then, he felt tiny. Worthless.
Next to Raven’s age and what she’d done, he–a guy who came to “help“-felt like a joke.
If he’d known he was walking into this, he’d have told his grandpa to forget it, even if it meant getting chewed out.
Vivian, who’d been scheming about calling her lieutenant general uncle, stopped cold, stunned.
She hadn’t really seen the badge Raven tossed in Rex’s face earlier–assumed Raven was maybe a major general, tops, given how young she looked.
But now Lorne was saying Raven was a general, just like that.
Vyrdenia’s fourth military general, just the four words made her mind spin.
That was someone the Jennings family would throw a whole welcome bash for–big dinner, fancy setup, the whole deal.
1/3
16:22 Mon,
Chapter 31
And she’d written Raven off as some nobody from a nowhere town. The ridiculousness of it slammed into her.
Looking back at how she’d acted, she felt like a total idiot.
Vivian always thought she had it all figured out. Yet now, she realized she’d played herself–she let out a quiet sigh.
Meanwhile, Rex blinked out of his daze, shaking his head.
Lorne’s words hit him like a slap across his grizzled face.
He’d just suggested bumping Raven down to colonel, and Lorne shot back by making her Vyrdenia’s fourth general.
After this, getting Raven on board would be like squeezing blood from a stone.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The underworld queen come back and slays