Ivy is the daughter of the Marquess of Townshend and a reluctant debutante in 1848 Victorian London. Following her sister's scandalous disappearance, she faces immense pressure to secure a marriage to save her family's ruined finances. She harbors a forbidden childhood interest in faeries. Rather than conforming to delicate societal standards, she demonstrates practical defiance, such as wearing sturdy boots beneath her gown to the Pact Parade.

Lydia is Ivy's beautiful, quick-witted older sister. Once considered the perfect debutante, she ruined her family's reputation after vanishing and returning with no memory of her whereabouts, claiming to have run off with a lower-class printer. Since her return, she hides in her room, refusing to participate in society.

Emmett is Queen Moryen's human stepson, known across London for his scandalous reputation and striking good looks. As the son of Prince Consort Edgar's first marriage, he grew up without a father figure due to a cruel Rose Bargain. He frequently acts as a rebellious foil to his half-brother Bram and actively recruits allies to survive the dangerous politics of his stepmother's court.

Queen Moryen, commonly known as Mor, is the immortal faerie ruler of England. With onyx hair, black eyes, and ghostly pale skin, her beauty is striking and intimidating. Having ruled for centuries since the War of the Roses, she relieves her eternal boredom by striking insidious Rose Bargains with her human subjects, trading magical favors for cruel costs.

Bram is the inhumanly beautiful fae son of Queen Moryen. Arriving from the Otherworld four years prior, he maintains a perfectly composed, charming demeanor that instantly captivates the human debutantes. He seeks a bride among the young women of society, actively participating in high-society events like boating and hunting to observe his prospects.

Olive is a redhead from the country who approaches the social season with wide-eyed innocence and a desperate desire to become a princess. She strikes a Rose Bargain to gain a perfect smile, sacrificing her fingernails in the process. She is deeply homesick, afraid of the dark, and finds comfort in baking late at night.

Emmy is a worldly debutante who dreams of traveling the sea or becoming a painter, poet, or pirate rather than settling into a traditional marriage. She participates in the contest primarily to please her father. For her Rose Bargain, she acquires artistic talent in exchange for the ability to taste sweets.

Marion is a wealthy, beautiful debutante whose father immigrated from Ghana and built a successful fabric empire in the West End. She strikes a bargain for writing talent in exchange for her happiest memory. She has little interest in marrying a man and hopes to intentionally lose the competition to remain independent.

Greer is Ivy's former childhood best friend whose socially ambitious mother forced her to cut ties following the Benton family scandal. She bargains for enhanced beauty at the cost of being unable to turn left. She is forced into the competition by her emotionally and physically abusive mother.

Faith is an exceptionally pretty ballerina with parchment pale skin and dark brown hair. Raised in a boarding house, she is the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman who forces her to abandon her dancing career and enter the social season. She strikes a bargain to detect lies, sacrificing her own ability to lie.

Edgar is the human husband of Queen Moryen and the father of Prince Emmett. Years ago, he struck a Rose Bargain to legitimize his son as a royal prince, but the queen exacted a cruel price, forbidding Edgar from ever speaking to Emmett again. He communicates with his son exclusively by leaving secret notes hidden inside books.

Viscountess Bolingbroke serves as the strict chaperone for the six debutantes chosen to compete for Prince Bram. She oversees their daily schedule, enforcing etiquette lessons and ensuring they adhere to the queen's grueling expectations. She maintains a rigid standard of discipline among the young women.

Lottie is a maid working within the palace grounds. She assists Prince Emmett by acting as a covert messenger and guiding Ivy through the hidden underground tunnels connecting the debutantes' cottage to the palace.

Eduart is a human who fought in the War of the Roses and made a bargain with Queen Mor for eternal life, hoping to escape the fear of death. The cruel cost of his bargain makes him inherently repellent to everyone he meets. He lives in deep isolation, surrounding himself with books instead of people.

Joseph is a stable boy who works for Greer Trummer's family. As a member of the lower class, his relationship with Greer is strictly forbidden by Victorian social standards, forcing them to meet in secret under constant threat of discovery.

Mrs. Osbourne is the Benton family's former cook. During Ivy and Lydia's childhood, she read them forbidden stories from a book about the faeries of the British Isles, sparking Ivy's lifelong fascination with the Others.

Percival is the son of Lord Chapwick and a wealthy suitor. He proposed to Lydia Benton during her debut season, but she rejected him because it did not feel right, leading him to marry someone else.

Lord Carrington is a nobleman and a patron of the Royal Ballet. He is Faith's father, though he refused to publicly claim her for years, only stepping in to force her into the marriage market to protect his own reputation.

Lord Hambleton is a patron at an exclusive, all-male gentlemen's club. He is arrogant and dismissive, challenging Ivy's presence at the poker table and questioning her family's ruined credit.

The Marquess of Townshend is Ivy and Lydia's father. Following a past bargain with Queen Moryen, his lands turned barren, plunging his family into financial ruin. He spends his time reading books to fill the void of his missing childhood memories, largely depending on his daughters to save the family through marriage.