Mallory Fontaine is the 17-year-old cynical and resourceful protagonist whose primary motivation is survival and the protection of her older sister, Anaïs. Orphaned and impoverished, Mallory relies on cons to survive. Her pragmatic and often combative nature are established early on; she knows that a salad fork is best held “in a tight fist while you sent those sharp little tines straight into the thigh of a would-be attacker” (1). This self-reliance masks a deep-seated distrust of others who may threaten her independence, including potential love interests. Mallory contends, “I’ve had enough sense not to fall in love to begin with” (164). Her surname, Fontaine, meaning “fountain” or “spring,” suggests a hidden wellspring of power, which she eventually discovers in her own dormant witchcraft.

Mallory’s relationship with magic is central to her identity and development. She loses her own innate “petty magic” in a botched séance and ends up being cursed with the ability to see and speak with ghosts. The god-gift hourglass mark on her neck is described as “[w]et, shiny, bloody. A festering wound” (300), an emblem of her feelings of shame and sense of failure.