It was late. Jericho had danced with Teya any time a song she liked came on. Her dragon had let him know which songs were her favorites. Jericho had waited until Teya was ready, and she had waited until there were fewer than a dozen people left to call it a night. Jericho fought the urge to yawn as they made their way from the ballroom.

“Thank you for tonight.” Teya stood beside him in front of the elevator, her head tilted against his shoulder while they waited for the car to arrive. The doors opened with a soft ding and they stepped inside. Teya hit the button, but not for the floor their rooms were on.

“Where are we going?” He glanced down with a frown.

“There’s something I want to show you.” She gave him a secretive smile. Jericho furrowed his brow but didn’t question her. He’d learned it wouldn’t help. Will you tell me what’s up? he sent to her dragon instead. Sometimes, her other half told her more than Teya did.

Not this time. It’s a surprise from us both. Jericho would swear he could hear a grin in the dragon’s mental voice. With a deep breath, he resigned himself to waiting until Teya revealed what they were up to. When the elevator doors slid open again, there was only darkness. Jericho hesitated to step out into the unknown.

“Come on.” Teya took his hand and stepped into the darkness. The lights clicked on, making Jericho jump. Glancing around, he tried to find what caused them to come on.

“Motion sensor.” Teya pointed to a couple of small, round lenses.

“Where are we?” He spun to take in the small room. It was maybe ten square feet.

“Just an access room.” She hit the long bar on the door with her hip and pushed it open. The lights in the new room kicked on, flickering at first then brightening. “This is the tunnel system.”

Jericho followed her through the door into what appeared to be a huge, concrete-lined cavern that stretched into darkness to both the right and left. The other side of the tunnel was about forty feet away, and the ceilings were nearly half that. He turned to take in the bizarre yet amazing place and saw a small sign over the door that read “MesoAmerican”. There were others, the paint faded and worn. One said “Monte Carlo”. Jericho turned to Teya, confused.

“Where are we?”

“Below the casino, even below the apartments.” She led him across the tunnel to another door. “From these tunnels, you can get to nearly any casino in town, to the airport, and a few other places, but that’s not why I brought you down here.” Teya pressed her hand against the wall, and after a couple seconds, he heard the soft click of the lock disengaging and the door swung open about two inches. Pulling open the door, she went inside. Curious, Jericho followed. Lights came on, revealing sand, boulders, and desert plants. The room was maybe five thousand square feet and filled with similar desert landscaping. It looked like a chunk of desert had been transported into the room

“How?” Jericho looked around, awed.

“Timed lights, automatic climate control, and watering.” Teya kicked off her sandals and unzipped her dress. Slipping her dress off, she hung it on a hook on the wall he hadn’t noticed. Her underwear came off next, joining the dress on the hook. After a moment, she turned and padded barefoot into the middle of the room. Jericho wasn’t sure what was going on, so he didn’t follow.

“This is why I brought you down here.” The air around her blurred for a moment, and where Teya had stood was now a huge, winged snake looking creature. He knew without asking that it was still Teya, but in her dragon form instead of her human one. He approached slowly, not afraid of this shape, but awed by the brilliant turquoise and purple feathers that covered most of her body. He was certain he had never seen anything quite so beautiful in all his time.

“Can I touch you?” He stepped close and lifted his hand but stopped, waiting for permission.

Of course, her dragon’s mental voice said, echoing her own. Touching her, he was surprised by how soft she felt. Not that he had any clue what to expect. He couldn’t begin to guess how long it had been since he’d touched a bird.

“Can you fly?” Jericho ran one hand down her side as he craned his head back to see her face several feet above his head.

I could last time I tried, but it’s next to impossible to keep from being seen these days, so I haven’t been out in years. She lowered her head so it was easier for him to meet her gaze. Jericho glanced around the room.

“Is it not big enough to fly in here?”

I can fly, but the corners make it a pain to try.

“What about out in the tunnels? If the ceiling in here is tall enough, that one will be, too. I’m not sure how big Vegas, is but from the way you talked, you could fly for miles in the tunnels.”

She tilted her serpentine head and watched him for a moment.

Access to the tunnels was restricted to supes, so I wouldn’t have to worry about being seen or recorded and being splashed across the news. She twisted around and rubbed the end of her snout against his arm. Her body shimmered and blurred again, and Teya’s human body once more appeared in front of him. “Well?” She rolled her shoulders and shivered. “What do you think?”

“You are very impressive.” He watched her reaction. “I didn’t know what to expect from the term Quetzalcoatl, but I have to say, both of your forms are beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She stretched up and kissed his cheek before going to where she’d hung her clothes and putting them back on. “Are you ready?” She turned back to ask him.

“What? Oh, sure.” Jericho hurried to the door and followed her out.