Page 24 of Savage Elites

“A background pain that will require paracetamol or ibuprofen only at night time if you need help to sleep.”

He scribbled down a list of things in Chinese characters. “Most practitioners give bags of herbs to prepare at home, but I’m assuming you’re a busy student and would prefer sachets of pre-boiled herbs?”

“Yes, please.”

“Alright. The boiling process takes us four hours in-house. I can FedEx them to your school when I’ve finished.”

“That will be great. Thank you.” I placed my hands on the arms of my chair and readied myself to rise.

“You haven’t had your treatment, yet.” Master Chang raised his hand and ushered me to remain seated.

Sweat broke out across my brow, and my gaze darted around the room for signs of needles. The doctor guided me back to the examination table and made a few chiropractic adjustments to my neck, then pressed down on one of the bones in my ankle, explaining this was a technique called injury recall.

When he finally said it was time to go, relief whooshed through my lungs at having escaped the acupuncture needles. I headed for the door and bounded into the reception area, feeling as light as I had before my memories had disappeared.

Leopold stood. “How was it?”

Rolling my head from side to side, I grinned. “Very thorough. My head feels amazing.”

I handed the list to the receptionist, who went to some shelves and picked up a CD, and two bottles of supplements with instructions in English. She took down the address of the academy and said she would send out the boiled herbs in the evening.

“How much is it for today, please?” I reached into my purse.

“My treat. This place is on my list of authorized retailers.” Leopold pulled out a black credit card and froze.

“What’s wrong?” I turned to look in the direction of his gaze.

Two women strode through the door. One was a statuesque beauty about Mom’s age, whose golden hair hung in a severe bob. She wore a knee-length, emerald-silk coat tailored around her slim figure that flared out at the waist.

The second was our age and stood a few inches shorter than the first. It was clear they were related, as the girls, shoulder-length hair was the same shade of gold.

The older woman narrowed her eyes into emerald slits. “Leopold.”

He stiffened. “Mother.”

Chapter 7

Mrs. Brunswick glowered from Leopold and me as though personally insulted that we were in her presence.

The girl, who had to be his sister because of their physical similarities, bit down on her bottom lip, not even bothering to suppress her smile. Her aquamarine eyes shone with the kind of glee kids had in junior school when the teacher told off a hated classmate. I guessed this was another form of sibling rivalry.

“You’re supposed to be at school,” said Mrs. Brunswick.

“It’s Saturday.” Leopold’s reply was deadpan.

“They have prep on the weekends,” the sister added in a faux-helpful tone.

My heart twisted. I knew the feeling of having an asshole sibling. Hopefully, this one wasn’t as proactively vindictive as Ashley.

The sister tilted her head to the side and swept a lingering gaze up and down my body. “Who is this?”

“Willow Evergreen.” I held out my hand. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Of the Evergreen medical family?”

My insides cringed. What would Mrs. Brunswick say when she discovered I wasn’t part of a centuries-old dynasty? Straightening my posture, I said, “The Evergreens of Cumbria. My mother and father were teachers.”

She raised a brow. “Were?”