The immortal he sensed sat inside a large library. The man's stunned look didn't change at Hannah's quick introduction or when she left. Even the sound of the door shutting did nothing to jar him.
Rhyn studied him, taking in the tattoos only other immortals could see. The immortal was relatively young, maybe a thousand years old, with Mediterranean features tinted olive and thick black eyebrows. At that age, he was relatively low on the immortal totem pole, though his obvious wealth indicated he had powerful connections somewhere.
"Forgive me," the man said, and stood, shaking his amazement away. "I'm Silvestre Giovanni. I never expected to meet one of the Council That Was Seven, let alone have the honor of hosting you."
"It's fine," Rhyn said.
"Is there anything I can procure for you? Please, my home is yours for as long as you like."
Rhyn almost wished he had even a fraction of Andre's manners. He hadn't dealt with lesser immortals since before he went to Hell.
"I'm fine," he said again. "My mate and I won't be here long."
"Hannah told me about Katherine. I didn't realize her Rhyn was…"
An awkward silence fell, and Rhyn knew what the immortal before him wasn't saying by the look of half-alarm, half-curiosity on his face.
"I get that a lot," Rhyn said. "You're house is…nice."
"Thank you. I purchased it because it reminds me of my beloved Venice. I left many years ago and haven't gone back. Hannah and I plan on taking our honeymoon there."
"Does she know what you are?"
Giovanni gave a half-laugh at the blunt question, and Rhyn sat. The lesser immortal relaxed some and joined him, pouring him a glass of ice water. Rhyn took in the small marble statues and portraits of wealthy Venetians on the walls.
"Not yet, no. I planned on telling her soon. Does Katherine?"
"Yeah."
"You chose Katherine?"
Rhyn glanced at him. Giovanni appeared genuinely puzzled.
"She's a good girl," Giovanni said, "but she's a bit of a lost cause. We've been trying to help put her through a good school for her advanced degree, so she can start working some place and make decent money. She's never known what she wanted to do, unfortunately. Just seems to float from job to job. Hannah gives her all her old clothes, which aren't cheap, and she never even returns Hannah's phone calls."
Rhyn bit his tongue out of respect for Katie. Giovanni pitied Katie, and yet, Rhyn suspected he knew more about the woman than either the man before him or Hannah. Part of him was gratified to find she, too, was the black sheep.