Willow closes her eyes, lifting her hands up in front of her and humming a low song like a prayer to the sliver of moon. Two orbs of steady white light grow in her hands. She lets out a soft rush of air as her song finishes.

“Why do you sing?” I ask.

Her face flushes in her own glowing lights. “It’s how I pull the magic out of me. I need music to call it.”

“I hope you don’t expect me to sing. It won’t be anything close to magical.”

“The singing is a weakness. You can pull the magic out of you with just your will alone. Willow has to lean on something she’s naturally gifted at to believe in herself.” Roman’s voice is terse. In the dim light his face shows nothing. He doesn’t so much as glance at Willow as he says it, focusing on the path below as he takes the first step.

Willow’s light flickers, and he looks back.

“Come.”

We both obey. Willow goes first, with me following behind them both, my feet skidding every once in a while on a loose patch of dirt and stone. When we hit the sand below, Roman kicks off his loafers and rolls his black slacks up. The sleeves of his white-collared shirt are already pushed up to his elbows, revealing a set of knives strapped to each forearm. Why he didn’t change for the beach, I don’t know. He probably sleeps in slacks and a white shirt.

I almost ask him, but he doesn’t seem in the mood for jokes. He never seems in the mood for jokes. Willow’s already in sandals. I bend and unzip my combat boots, revealing my own knives.

We trudge after Roman, Willow’s lights creating shadows in the grooves and dips in the sand.

I may not be able to see much of the beach besides the faint white of foamy waves hitting sand in the moonlight, but my other senses don’t disappoint. The cold air bites at me. The smell is hard to describe, salty and tangy, alive compared to the city. The sand grabs at my toes with each step, as if it wants me to just be still for a moment. We walk until we reach an outcropping of rock, cutting us off from the beach on the other side of it. The waves are louder here, hitting more stone than sand.