Emilia di Carlo is the main protagonist and narrator of the novel. She is a Shadow Witch, a descendant from an ancient line of witches who share a heritage with the Wicked. At the beginning of the book, she is 18 years old, and she lives with her twin sister and their family in Palermo, Sicily in the late 19th century. Emilia practices light magic, taught to her extensively by her grandmother, Nonna Maria, who emphasizes the importance of acting for good in her lessons. As the book progresses, Emilia must learn to find her place in a world that is more complicated than she believed. 

Emilia is characterized by her strong morals and fierce loyalty, though she learns to appreciate more nuances as her character develops over the course of the novel. Emilia intends to follow through on her vow to “make whoever [murdered Vittoria] pay” (44), yet when she captures Antonio in Chapter 48, she considers her newly learned sense of mercy. Emilia’s ability to adapt is essential to her character development and indicative of her witch heritage, as witches seek balance in all their rituals. Emilia’s primary foil in the novel is the Prince of Wrath: He represents all the bad intentions and deception Nonna Maria warns of in her tales of the Wicked.