Read this story several years ago - maybe 4 or 5? I can't remember.
In any case, it was a 4-part story involving a shapeshifting crow who was the prince/heir of some race, and another guy who was horribly disfigured and in pain from an accident of some sort and avoided human contact at all costs.
Shapeshifting crow guy had a witch after him (might have been his sister? who managed to capture and torture and rape him until human-avoiding guy came and rescued him and they got rid of the witch) and also his dad put a bounty on his head because he was gay and his dad wanted him to marry a woman and have children and lead the tribe/race/species or something? So there were a lot of people out to kill him, and the last one almost succeeded but shapeshifting crow guy's mom saved his life.
The two main characters fall in love and there's something about a rose tattoo as well, I think - shapeshifting crow guy also speaks Welsh and calls the human-avoiding guy "cariad" at some point in the story.
I'm really horrible with names but I think the witch might have called the shapeshifting crow guy "Gwalchmai" or something like that? Again, not good with names, not good with spelling, memory very fuzzy.
Thanks in advance for any help locating the title or author!
In any case, it was a 4-part story involving a shapeshifting crow who was the prince/heir of some race, and another guy who was horribly disfigured and in pain from an accident of some sort and avoided human contact at all costs.
Shapeshifting crow guy had a witch after him (might have been his sister? who managed to capture and torture and rape him until human-avoiding guy came and rescued him and they got rid of the witch) and also his dad put a bounty on his head because he was gay and his dad wanted him to marry a woman and have children and lead the tribe/race/species or something? So there were a lot of people out to kill him, and the last one almost succeeded but shapeshifting crow guy's mom saved his life.
The two main characters fall in love and there's something about a rose tattoo as well, I think - shapeshifting crow guy also speaks Welsh and calls the human-avoiding guy "cariad" at some point in the story.
I'm really horrible with names but I think the witch might have called the shapeshifting crow guy "Gwalchmai" or something like that? Again, not good with names, not good with spelling, memory very fuzzy.
Thanks in advance for any help locating the title or author!