"No," I responded immediately, standing up. "No. I'm not going to become one of your pawns that you can use to get what you want." I narrowed my eyes. "Conquering Encanto is pointless, when are you going to realize that?"
"It's what your Mother wants," Dad said. "Wanted. It's what she wanted."
"Right," I rolled my eyes. "The famous conquerors of Temprest, 'Averly and Blagden Meliac." I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't want a part in it. Figure something else out."
"Don't use her name like that, Avon," Dad demanded, standing up from his desk. He glared at me. "You know what? If you don't want a part in this then you can leave. Get your things, and go. If you're so intent on protecting Encanto, then you can go and live there yourself. See where it gets you."
I gritted my teeth, anger boiling through my veins. I didn't really have much of a choice, it appeared. Without another word, I left the room, leaving behind any hope of mending things with my remaining family.
I couldn't go back to my room, since the guards were stationed around the hallway. Even though it was technically still my house until I left the city limits, that rule was apparently vetoed.
Fortunately, I still had my bag, which had enough food to last until I figured something out. I struggled to think of a place I could go, a place to stay while I waited for some kind of epiphany.
There were no guards at the front of the house, which allowed me to get onto the street. Each step I took carried me further and further away. I expected to feel regret, but I didn't. I felt more free than I'd ever been before. And I was.
There were endless possibilities now.
Unfortunately, my elation only lasted until I saw a familiar figure being dragged across the street in handcuffs. The guards were dressed in their formal uniforms, which was unusual; black caps and suits with ties.
"Now, wait a second, I didn't do anything wrong!" He was protesting, frantically shapeshifting back and forth to confuse the guards. They didn't let up. "Hey, where's my consent?"
The guards spotted me, turning to walk over in my direction. That was just perfect. Camilo gave me a helpless look, taking the form of one of the guards.
"What the hell are you doing?" I recognized one of the guards as my father's old assistant and spoke directly to him. "What did he do wrong?"
"He's a Madrigal," The second guard said gruffly, glaring at Camilo, who was currently wearing his face. "I have specific instructions from Mr. Meliac to bring him straight into headquarters."
"Really?" I raised my eyebrows, remembering that these guards didn't know I was kicked out. "Because I think he told me that he needed Madrigal in the jail...something about a new experiment..."
Camilo's face looked even more horrified. I wanted to tell him to relax, but that would blow my cover. The guards exchanged looks, shrugging.
"Actually, you know what, I can take him there now," I said. "Mr. Mel—I mean, my Dad needs you to search the boundaries. He heard about some strange activities in the East." I invented wildly. "It's not a problem."
"Sounds like a trick," The third guard said suspiciously.
"You really want to disobey Mr. Meliac?" I raised an eyebrow. "You know what he did to that one guy who used to work for him?"
"Fine," The second guard answered quickly. "We'll go. But if we hear he's broken out.."
"You'll kill me, blah-blah-blah," I grabbed Camilo's arm, pulling him away from the guards. "I don't care."
They disappeared around the corner.
"Don't say anything," I muttered under my breath.
"So, you're taking me to jail?" Camilo smirked, his eyebrows shooting up. He glanced down at the handcuffs. "How much are you enjoying this right now?"
"I said be quiet."