He knew this secret tunnel well. He just hoped the Thornes did not. King Edward Cleland had told his children and heirs, one of whom, Olivia, had passed the information about the network of secret tunnels to her five sons. Toby hoped the knowledge, passed down through generations of Clelands had avoided the Thornes. He blessed his mother for having the foresight to educate her sons, even though at that time they lived in Lian and nowhere near Cleland Castle.
Toby’s entire body ached. It hurt to swallow. He stumbled downward in the utter darkness, hand trailing the wall. It was uneven rock here. Not polished stone as in the chute he had just tumbled from. It nicked at his hand.
He stumbled on the first step and took the first five on his rump before he righted himself. Down and down he
