Underlord (Cradle, #6)

by Will Wight

Finally, Charity turned to him. “I will make myself clear. If you face Wei Shi Lindon before you reach Underlord, you will surely die.”

“A dragon is not ashamed of tears,” Orthos said.

“I heard,” she said. “Nothing like a deadline to push you past your limits, true?” Her tone was supposed to be light, but she was forcing it.

“You want us both to live?” Yerin went on. “You listen to me like I’m the voice of heaven. I say frog, you jump. I say snake, you crawl. I say dog, you⁠—” A nightmarish voice scraped out of the Blood Shadow’s throat. “Woof,” it said. Then it gave her a bloody grin.