Beneath the Willow Tree

   In Nova's world, everyone is born with Disace's pain inflicting Mark on their skin.  Which makes two things impossible to her: a Mark-less man, and being able to trust anyone as a slave girl without being betrayed.  Her solace in this world is sitting under a lone willow tree at dusk.

   So, of course, her world upends when she discovers a man with no Mark.  Beneath her willow, he offers her something that should be impossible for anyone to give: freedom from Disace's grip.

   But as the risk of even talking with him grows, she'll have to decide if trusting a man who shouldn't exist is even possible.