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

Queen Gwenda, increasingly known as Snow White to her people, is a curse. No one will ever convince her otherwise. The result of a forbidden spell that cost her mother's life, it seems all she does is attract trouble. The Bloody Beauty who murdered her father. The terrifying Bluebeard who came to Blodwen in search of revenge. Now an illness plagues her people, and the only clue to its origins is a strange song that plays every night, a song that even Blodwen Forest cannot locate... moreQueen Gwenda, increasingly known as Snow White to her people, is a curse. No one will ever convince her otherwise. The result of a forbidden spell that cost her mother's life, it seems all she does is attract trouble. The Bloody Beauty who murdered her father. The terrifying Bluebeard who came to Blodwen in search of revenge. Now an illness plagues her people, and the only clue to its origins is a strange song that plays every night, a song that even Blodwen Forest cannot locate.All Gwenda wants is for her kingdom to be happy, healthy, and at peace. No more killers, no more curses, no more nights spent wondering what nightmare will befall them next. If she can ever achieve that, maybe she'll at last be able to fulfill a few private wishes of her own, and build a life that isn't filled with tragedy and death and lonely nights.As if she doesn't have enough thwarting her goals, in the midst of it all a new mystifying problem arrives: a man arrested for impersonating a noble, pretending to be the duke of a long-problematic domain, a man who claims he killed the ogre that had overtaken the castle, and who never goes anywhere without his companion, a strange, bold, and entirely too clever cat… less