My legs were frozen. I couldn’t move. I could only stare at the creature before me, torn between awe and utter panic. Besides my sister, I’d only ever seen one other of my kind in its real form, an adult who wasn’t even half the size of this dragon. He had to be a Wyrm, one of three dragons in the world who had passed the thousand-year mark, who had survived so long that they were the size of buildings. Everyone in Talon knew of the Elder Wyrm, the oldest and most powerful of us all, but the identities and locations of the other two were a jealously guarded secret. Reign was ancient, a lesser god gazing down at three tiny insects scurrying around his feet.

I suddenly realized why Talon allowed him his…idiosyncrasies, as Mr. Roth put it. Who would dare to tell him no?

“Well.” The deep voice reverberated through the cavern like thunder, making the walls tremble. “Here you are, then.” Reign pulled himself to his full impressive height, dwarfing everything in the cavern as he stretched, before sinking back and curling his tail around himself. His scales, like antique coins, glittered as he lowered his head to regard me with a blood-chilling smile. “Welcome to my casino,” he continued, giving me a clear, terrifying view of his fangs. “I trust the accommodations are acceptable?”

He was talking to me, I realized, not my trainer or Mr. Roth. Which struck me as very odd. Why would one of the most powerful dragons in Talon take the time to address me and not my superiors?

Be polite, Mr. Roth had said. Always a good plan when staring down an eighty-foot dragon who could swallow you in one bite. “Yes, sir,” I managed, grateful that my voice didn’t shake. “You’ve been more than accommodating. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice. Your hotel is very impressive.”

Reign sniffed, but he seemed pleased. “I see they’ve trained you well,” he rumbled, and raised his head to observe the other dragons, standing patiently to either side. “Though I wouldn’t have expected anything else. But I have little time for pleasantries. Let us talk business.”

His eyes glittered, and he folded his front claws before him like a cat, the curved talons lightly raking the floor. “So the other little hatchling has run away,” he said, sounding amused and impatient at the same time. “And now, you think she is somewhere in my city.” He snorted, sending a billow of smoke into the air. “I find that highly unlikely. Nothing happens here without my knowledge. No one comes or goes unless I know about it. I have eyes in almost every casino, every hotel on and off the Strip.” He angled a horn at the bank of screens surrounding him. “If this girl has entered my territory, what makes you think she can hide from me?”