"Care to elaborate?"

"Oh, you know. How'd he become the Dust Devil? How'd Bryant become the self-proclaimed King? Luke, was the voice targeting something you wish would change? Did it claim it could fix that thing?"

"Yeah." I nod. What's she getting at?

"Easy. The Amethyst Throne. It did the same thing with Bryant when it got him to become its vessel. I might've been in another dimension of Ragdon when that happened, but I don't have to be there to know. Anyone the Amethyst Throne comes into contact with and wants to control will hear its whispers. I haven't heard them myself, but I've been told they eat away at your mind, tell you what you want to hear, try to lure you in with sweet, sweet promises until you're too far gone to come back." I'm silent for a few moments as I process what Seneca said.

"So that was the Amethyst Throne?" Phoenix's voice is tight. His body is tensed as he awaits Seneca's reply.

"Yes, I believe so."

"Yup. It's dead. Today. Now. Good luck stopping me, Wolf. Not gonna work this time. I can't believe you managed to get me to come back here, to the White Tent Sea, last time. Not gonna work this time. Goodbye. See y'all when the Amethyst Throne's destroyed and Bryant's dead." Phoenix sneers, curling his lips and flashing his teeth. His tail flicks a few times before he shoves his way out into the streets of the White Tent Sea.

"Did I just hear Phoenix say he's going to destroy the Amethyst Throne? And hello, Luke. I hope you're doing well. Or as well as someone can be after hearing the whispers from the Amethyst Throne." Icarus frowns as he walks in before looking over his shoulder toward the spot where Phoenix had been. Seneca curses.

"Phoenix!" She sprints out of the tent. The 3 of us follow her.

"I'm not stopping! I've got a King to kill!" Phoenix snarls. He doesn't look back, instead continuing on at a leisurely pace, as if he has all the time in the world. His comment about Bryant turns heads. People's eyes widen in fear and more than a few cast terrified looks to each other. But if Phoenix notices, he doesn't show it. The snake weakly struggles against Scorpius's bonds but soon gives up.

"You cannot go. You will not succeed. Please, stop and listen for just, like, 1 minute!" Seneca races after the black cat.

"Seneca's telling the truth, Phoenix. You won't succeed." Icarus follows, trailed by me and Wolf.

"You doing alright?" Wolf glances over at me.

"Yeah."

"I told you already, I'm not stopping," Phoenix roars, whirling around, eyes flashing and flames crackling as his tail lashes back and forth. "When our parents and sister died, Ky and I swore on our lives we would avenge their deaths and destroy the so-called King we named KG14 since we couldn't speak what he named himself. We'd bring him down from the ground up and destroy everything he claimed to love before finishing with him. We said that if something ever happened to 1 of us that the 1st thing the other did was finish what we had started. No mourning, only revenge. And that's what I'm doing. You are not going to stop me this time, so quit trying. Or don't; I couldn't care less. Now, let me go so I can finally achieve our revenge."

"I'm all for revenge. But you're not gonna be able to destroy the Amethyst Throne, not easily at least. And if you somehow do, it'll destroy life on Ragdon like it is now. In my dimension, it slaughtered all of those who wielded magic, except for me and Icarus. And Icarus got his wing bound. I'm certain it will ruin the island if you manage to destroy it."

"If that happens, at least I will have gotten my revenge. Now, if you've got nothing left to say, I'll be leaving. I'm not stopping again."

"Phoenix, I get you're angry and you have every reason to be angry, but you cannot destroy the Amethyst Throne."

"Sure I can. It's called being stronger. I'm destroying it. Good luck stopping me."

"You don't understand the power of the Amethyst Throne. It will work its way into your mind, and by the time you realize what it's done, it's too late. And if you somehow manage to defeat it you will have doomed just about everyone on Ragdon. Do you really want to do that?" Phoenix is silent for several seconds.

"Fine. I won't destroy the Amethyst Throne then. Only KG14. Happy?" Seneca opens her mouth to respond, but Icarus interrupts her.

"Perhaps it would be best if we were to go somewhere... quieter. We can explain what happened in our dimension in more detail." He tilts his head to the side.

"I told you already. I'm not stopping."

"Phoenix, I know you want to kill Bryant, but can you please just give them a few moments?" Wolf asks.

"No. You of all people should be the 1 who's the most for it. He killed your brother. Now, shut up. I'm leaving. Or don't. I don't care." Wolf's jaw clenches and her orange eyes flash, but she doesn't reply. 

Phoenix turns around and makes his way toward Bryant's castle, moving a little faster this time.

Seneca slowly shakes her head as she watches the black cat. "He's gonna get everyone killed."

"He doesn't care," Wolf says. "He only wants revenge, and he's willing to get it at any cost."

"What will happen if Phoenix destroys the Amethyst Throne."

"I don't know exactly since it's a different dimension. In ours, though, everyone able to wield magic was killed, along with nearly everyone else, and much of our Ragdon was destroyed. As soon as the Amethyst Throne started to be attacked, it fought back and hard. It turned many against us through its whispers. I'm guessing it's going to be very similar here."

"Is there a way to destroy the Amethyst Throne safely?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no." Seneca's voice is low.

"This was a complete waste of time. I'm gonna go kill the King since he's been alive for however long he's been alive too long. It's well past due that he pays for what he did to me and my family."

My mind thinks over what Seneca had said about the Amethyst Throne. Surely there's some way 1 could destroy the Amethyst Throne and not destroy Ragdon too, right?

"Phoenix, please. You cannot go. You're going to get everyone killed."

"Not everyone."

"Almost everyone. Please, we'll figure something out, but you can't go to the King right now." Seneca looks to Wolf for help.

"I know you want to kill the King, but not right now."

"I'm not having this conversation anymore. I'm wasting daylight and the King's not gonna go die himself." Phoenix curls his lip in disgust. He snorts before turning around.

Just as Phoenix is taking a step, Brook comes running, nostrils flared and ears pinned. Clap is a few steps behind her, eyes bright. "What is it?" Wolf jogs up to the unicorn.

"The King's army. Looks like it's almost all of the Guard and Soldiers." Seneca curses.

"Looks like someone's desperate."

"Not desperate. More like prolonging his death. But more in how long it's gonna take, not when. Still gonna happen very, very soon. Ridiculous how he thinks some Guard and Soldiers are gonna stop me. You have fun with those. I'm gonna go head to our dearest King's castle."

"You're going to be going straight through the army."

"Perfect. I'll kill some for you."

"Not going to help us, Phoenix?" Icarus tilts his head to the side.

"Of course not. I've got a King to kill. You can handle the Guard and Soldiers. They're weak and all have the exact same fighting style. Easy killings. Clap could probably kill a few if she really wanted to." Phoenix rolls his eyes, tail flicking before walking off, muttering something about a stupid question.

This time, Phoenix really does walk off and his fur blazes with crackling flames. I watch him, knowing that no 1 will try to stop the black cat.

xxxx

"So you said nearly all of the King's army is headed for the White Tent Sea?" Icarus turns around to look at Brook. His bound wing brushes against the ground.

"They're already here. I came to warn you." Brook nudges Clap to get her to move closer. Clap rubs up against her leg, wrinkling her nose when the feathers on Brook's foreleg tickle her.

"What's the plan?" Seneca looks to Wolf.

"Er, I... Uh. Don't let Phoenix reach Bryant's castle and keep the Guard and Soldiers from doing too much damage to the White Tent Sea."

"Sounds good. I might not've been here too long, but I'm more than ready to defeat this wannabe King, starting with his army." Seneca cracks her knuckles before her form starts to flicker. A green triangle appears beneath each of her eyes, and she shimmers until a deer stands in her place. "Let's do this," she says.

"1 more thing. Brook, don't freak out. Luke, keep Clap safe. And Clap, I've got a job for you, alright?"

"Yeah? Wh-wh-what is-is it?"

"See this necklace here? I need you to wear it. And if any of the Guard or Soldiers try to take it, I need you to run away from them as fast as you can, ok?"

"I-I can do that! I'm r-r-really good a-at k-keep away!"

"I'm sure you are." Wolf removes the pewter pendant from around her neck and places it over Clap's head. It shrinks until the pendant is in the middle of Clap's chest. She cranes her neck to get a glimpse of how it looks.

"What am I not going to like about this?" A silent question is asked, with an implied expected answer.

"You cannot go with Clap."

"Like hell I'm leaving her. I made a promise to Freedom that I would keep Clap safe, and I'm not going to break it. I like every aspect of your plan, except for this 1."

"Clap is the fastest out of all of us, and Bryant wants the pewter pendant. He cannot get it. I'd send you with Clap to make sure it doesn't get to him, but Luke knows the Amethyst Throne the best out of all of us."

"She's not leaving my side."

Thanks for reading the latest chapter of The King's Remorse! Please consider a vote if you enjoyed it, and please comment your thoughts about it! I'd love to hear them

What will happen with Wolf's plan? It involves Brook and Clap being separated and Clap going with Luke, a former Soldier and loyal righthand man of the King. What's going to happen there?

Is there a way to destroy the Amethyst Throne without simultaneously destroying nearly everything else on Ragdon? If so, what? If not, what will the group have to do if they're going to defeat Bryant?

Will Wolf, Seneca, and Icarus be able to defeat the Guard and Soldiers and stop Phoenix before he reaches Bryant's castle?

Will Brook, Clap, and Luke be able to keep the pewter pendant out of Bryant's hands?

Any predictions on what's to come in the rest of The King's Remorse?

I hope you are all having a wonderful day!

-Werewolf14- :)