Gods and Monsters by Rachel Langella

For centuries beyond count, Errante Ame has taken his Carnival of Mysteries from world to world and across times, never staying in one place too long lest his great enemy discover his location. Along the way he has accumulated friends and built a family of sorts among his ragtag band of performers, yet he doesn’t dare let anyone get too close to protect them from becoming a target as well. He stands apart, an outsider even among those closest to him, concealing his true nature.

Even from the man who has somehow come to mean more to him than his own life.

The Carnival is all Rafe Harper has ever known. Plucked as a toddler from the remains of a destroyed village on a world he doesn’t remember, he was adopted by Calliope, the Tattooed Lady, and raised among the performers. As an adult, he was given the position of Ringmaster by Errante — though he secretly longed for far more from the enigmatic leader of the Carnival. Despite all the wonders he has seen, Rafe stayed with the Carnival to remain close to Errante, wondering if someday he could break through Errante’s walls and finally reveal how he truly feels.

But unbeknownst to either of them, a traitor lurks among their friends, and unless Rafe can discover the secret of his past, he stands to lose Errante, the Carnival, and perhaps his very soul.