“I grew flowers in my backyard and sold them at a farmers market on the weekends. I’d wear big poofy sleeves and pull a daisy out for kids who walked by.” She’s still looking at her drink, but a fleeting smile crosses her face. “It drew people to my booth. I started getting custom requests during the week… to the point that I was bringing in more money than my husband. He didn’t like that. It was mostly yelling at first, but one day he came home, and I was in the backyard pruning roses, and he started screaming about me not having dinner ready on time. He hit me.” She looks up and stares straight into my eyes. “He didn’t get a chance to do it again. I fell into my roses, and all I wanted was for them to scratch him to pieces instead of me, so they did. They grew out from their beds and pots until they swallowed him whole. I just sat there and watched and listened to him scream, but I didn’t want it to stop. We lived in the country, so nobody heard him. I just sat down on the garden bench for hours, until I heard a car pull up the gravel driveway.” She smirks now, like she enjoys this part of the memory. “Aristelle strolled through the back gate, took in the whole scene, then grabbed the shears and cut him loose. Then she held him by the collar and lit her hand on fire and told him to never try to find me. He seemed terrified. He looked like I had been feeling for weeks. I left with Aristelle and never turned back.”

I nod. I can understand the need for power. If I’m honest with myself, that’s a driving force for me too. I want it all: revenge, magic, power.

But something else nags at me for the first time. Diantha never looked back, and I can understand why she wouldn’t, but I don’t want that.

“Do you still visit anyone from your previous life? Do they know about you?” If I can’t see Parker once I stop aging… that would be enough to scare me away.

“I don’t,” Diantha says.

“Well, my parents love her.” Reina squeezes Diantha’s hand. “And the Japanese side of my family is close. Most of them live around Los Angeles, so we go visit a couple times a year.”

“How?” I don’t know how long ago they became immortal, but at a certain point it’d start to be obvious.

Reina glances around before smiling at me. At first, I don’t notice, but then I see it—a few wrinkles around her eyes and deepened laugh lines around her lips. It’s not a huge difference, but she looks maybe ten years older.