Blodwen Forest Series by Megan Derr

Calder is the Huntsman of the Royal Forest of Blodwen, a job he loves more than anything else in the world. Well, almost anything. But the greatest love of his life took a different path ten years ago, and so Calder focuses on his forest and friends. Then the king returns home early—and married to a beautiful woman who proves to be a terrible witch... moreCalder is the Huntsman of the Royal Forest of Blodwen, a job he loves more than anything else in the world. Well, almost anything. But the greatest love of his life took a different path ten years ago, and so Calder focuses on his forest and friends. Then the king returns home early—and married to a beautiful woman who proves to be a terrible witch. Though Calder manages to not fall under her spell, it's only a matter of time before she realizes he's not bewitched, and Calder joins the other rapidly accumulating dead. The kingdom's only hope lies in finding a sorcerer of equal power, but the only one Calder knows of is the man he hasn't seen in ten years, and lives in a kingdom too far away to reach in time… Author's Note: This story was first published in Fairytales Slashed Volume 2. It has not been significantly revised. less

Marcum sacrificed much to be the greatest alchemist on the continent and a master of poisons rivaled by precious few. Power and standing in his father's court. The chance to build friendships, find romance. His beauty, which was once considered noteworthy, but now is ruined by scars and burns. He is regarded with wariness at best and fear at worst... moreMarcum sacrificed much to be the greatest alchemist on the continent and a master of poisons rivaled by precious few. Power and standing in his father's court. The chance to build friendships, find romance. His beauty, which was once considered noteworthy, but now is ruined by scars and burns. He is regarded with wariness at best and fear at worst.Though a recent move to the kingdom of Blodwen, far from his home of Roseberry, offers something of a fresh start, still his ravaged appearance and eccentric ways do him no favors—especially not with Goulet, the handsome, infuriating goblin who will clearly never see Marcum as anything but an ugly, bothersome know-it-all unworthy of the tattoos Goulet inks into all their friends.Then a goblin is murdered, and Marcum's laboratory mysteriously destroyed, opening the doors on a nightmare that should have ended for good more than a decade ago, but now seems to have returned with vengeance in mind… less