CHAPTER 25Walking alongside Sam, Ping watched Mara and Diana on the trail ahead, talking and gesticulating as if swapping war stories. It was the first time since they began the hike that mother and daughter had spent much time together. At first, he had assumed they had fallen into their reconfigured teams because he and Mara had completed the main concepts in Elements of Magic. However, Mara had been giving her brother the silent treatment all morning, refusing to talk to or acknowledge him. Ping wondered if that’s why they’d switched hiking partners.
“Mr. Ping? May I ask you a question?” Sam said.
For a second, Ping frowned at the boy as they walked, and then his expression morphed into something more like a smile. “Would I be correct in assuming that I’m speaking to the Sam from this
