The True Queen- Book Two

Excerpt from New Version Chapter One

The following scene is for all of you Sebastian haters. If you think he was bad in this version, just wait until you see what he's like in the new version! You're going to love to hate him!! 

Here is his introduction to the story. 

***

"Dry those tears up. He's here," Fallon said. Illyana followed her icy stare to the top of the stairs. If Kristoff had made her nervous, the man who walked through those doors made her knees go weak with terror. She glanced over at her father. He sat up in his chair and pulled at his robes. She watched as all the blood drained from his face, giving his skin an unnatural, sickly complexion. Even his lips lost their colour.

Nausea swelled in her stomach, and her sisters went silent. Illyana stepped closer to her father and took his hand once more. It was clammy, and he squeezed her tightly, like her grip was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Duke and Duchess Sebastian Baylon," the announcer called. Illyana drew her eyes back to the top of the stairs. She didn't look at her grandmother, and everyone else in the room simply disappeared, especially as they had gone deathly silent.

Sebastian was a tall, lean man. He didn't wear excessive wealth like Matthias. Instead, he wore a simple leather tunic. It looked black, but when the light hit it at the right angles, it revealed a dark emerald sheen that made the material almost look like scales. The only jewellery he wore was a single gold ring with a large emerald in its centre. His eyes, which were such a pale blue that they almost seemed silver, scanned the room slowly. She felt the ripple of unease spread around the hall, which only grew more intense as his stare stopped on the throne. His expression showed nothing as he stared at Illyana and Matthais. Illyana was paralysed for a moment as she laid eyes on him. The last time he was at the castle was three years ago. Since then, the man hadn't changed a bit. His white-grey hair was neatly slicked back in the same style she remembered from her childhood. His facial hair, the same almost white tone as the hair on his head, was just as thick and neatly groomed as ever, cut sharply following the line of his jaw. His pale, slightly wrinkled skin clung to the angular features of his face. He held up his arm, and her grandmother, Madeline, took it elegantly, her simple emerald robes sweeping around her. As they descended the stairs, she looked at everyone in the room as though they were beneath her. Slowly, people started talking again, but it was quieter than before. Even though the guests tried to make it seem like they had stopped paying attention to Sebastian and Madeline Baylon, those in their path stepped immediately out of the way as the couple walked toward the throne.

Illyana looked away from them briefly and toward her sisters. Shaelyn, the youngest of the five, looked as though she were about to cry. Rayana held her hand tightly, her large, dark brown eyes wide with fear.

"Fallon, swap with Cordelia," Illyana ordered. Fallon didn't need telling twice.

"Why did they have to come?" Cordelia, the third of the Dulavelle daughters, whispered as she and Fallon swapped.

"You really think they would miss this?" Illyana asked as she let go of her father's hand.

"I hoped," Cordelia said, a slight tremble in her voice. Illyana glanced back at Fallon, who was whispering to their two youngest sisters. Illyana smiled softly as they both seemed to lose a little bit of their tension and nodded to whatever Fallon was telling them.

"As if we could ever be so lucky," Matthias said beside them.

"They're almost here," Cordelia said, and straightened the skirts of her dark purple gown. Illyana looked away from her and back at Madeline. She and Cordelia shared the same dark green eyes. On Cordelia, surrounded by thick, dark ginger lashes and soft bronze eye makeup, the deep shade was enchanting. On her grandmother, they were scary. It was like she could look directly into one's soul. Her soft pink lips pulled into a polite, yet lifeless smile. Her grandmother was the image of a perfect, high-society wife. She had an elegant, timeless beauty. Her hair, which was once black like Matthias and Illyana's, had streaks of dark grey running through it. It was thick with curls and pulled back into a simple updo. Her soft, feminine features were a weapon of hers, used to lure people into a false sense of safety. Illyana learned that the hard way. If Kristoff had his way, and he was chosen to be the next King, and if Illyana won the trial, he would mould her into a woman like Madeline. Beautiful, intelligent, but most of all, a willing participant in his cruelty. Just like Madeline was in all of Sebastian's devastating displays of control and power.