[The Tempest trilogy: Book 3] After the fateful battle for Bifröst, Zoya lost everything, including her will to fight. However, the war with Nightingale and the Yeomen is not over yet and Zoya soon realizes she has what it takes to settle them for g...
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What...? I saw her getting crushed by the falling debris. I heard her bones cracking and blood slowly leaking from beneath the fallen rubble. Even if she survived by some miracle, she would have to be seriously injured. This person, on the other hand, looks unharmed.
Am I mistaken? No, this person clearly is Petra. The same darker skin heavily contrasting with bright green eyes, the same full lips, prominent curves and black hair tied into a braid. She's wearing a white tank top with a black vest on top, black shorts and a pair of sneakers.
The girl notices me and gazes at me for a while.
I approach her and lean across the table towards her in a manner I hope is threatening. "What the hell are you doing here?" I hiss. "I saw you die with these two eyes. What kind of tricks did you play on me? Did you fake your death so we can finish what we started?"
"Well... I probably owe you an explanation," the girl starts. It's strange since Petra's voice became softer than when we met for the last time. Overall, there's something... different about her. The look in her eyes, her posture, body language. It's like she became much less intimidating. Now she looks almost friendly.
"The hell you do," I utter.
"First of all... I have to deal with the fact my sister really is dead. Give me a second." The girl sighs and gazes into her tea while stirring it slowly.
"Wait... did you say sister?" I say after I give her a moment she requested.
She looks me in the eyes. "That's right. Petra was my identical twin sister. My name is Lenka Procházková and I'm here to help you. But in order to do so, I need you to trust me."
I observe her for a while. Yes, she looks identical to Petra, but now, I can see the apparent differences between them. Petra was cruel, merciless, with cold eyes and emotionless face. This girl seems warm and friendly - I can see it especially in her eyes. Eyes can tell you a lot if you know what to look for.
"Well, I guess I will have to do some more explaining," she gives me a shy smile. "I suppose you've already heard of 'good twin and evil twin'. Well, Petra and I took it quite literally. Even though we looked the same, she was always the troublesome one, the aggressive one. Ironically, it seems my parents liked her more because of that. Her hot blood made her more self-assertive and ambitious. They see me as too timid and that's a fatal flaw in our family. Also... they have quite negative attitude towards Castaways and Petra just went with that."
"You aren't like them in this?"
Lenka tilts her head. "If I was, do you think I'd be here talking to you right now? I find Castaways fascinating and I loved watching Neoclash when it was still on. I've actually thought about buying a Champion and participate in Neoclash myself, but I don't have enough money."
"I suppose your family doesn't come from Europe, right?" I ask the question which was bugging me since I met Petra. "You look rather... exotic."
The girl gives a short laugh. "It's true I'm quite a mixture. My mom is half Czech, half Greek. And my father is a Gypsy. It's especially the family from my father's side which judges me for being too quiet. The Gypsies are usually lively, but a short-tempered nation. A lot of people hate them since they sometimes tend to be noisy and reluctant to adapt to European standards. But I've also met Gypsies who are lovely people."
