The earthlines speak to Mirasol, but her family has lived in the demesne
for centuries, and many of the old families can hear the land. She knows
that the violent deaths of the last Master and Chalice have thrown
Willowlands into turmoil; but she is only a beekeeper, and the problems
of the Circle that govern Willowlands have nothing to do with
her--although she wonders what will become of her demesne, because the
Master and Chalice left no heirs to carry on their crucial duties.
And then the Circle come to Mirasol, to tell her that she has been
chosen to be the new Chalice; and the Master she must learn to work with
is a Priest of Fire, a man no longer quite human, whose touch can burn
human flesh to the bone.