Alano is the novel’s second protagonist and first-person narrator. Paz views Alano as the exact opposite of himself. He is well-built and possesses heterochromatic eyes that Paz finds fascinating. While also 19 years old and physically attractive, Alano generally exudes positivity. He is the only child of Joaquin and Naya Rosa, the founders of Death-Cast. The family’s wealth and power have allowed him to live in luxury, but the knowledge that he will someday inherit the family business places a heavy burden on his shoulders. Alano’s temperament is sensitive and caring. Like Paz, he is gay, but his family has always been supportive of his sexual orientation. Despite all these advantages, Alano often clashes with his overbearing father. He feels that his life has been mapped out for him, depriving him of the chance to discover what he wants for himself.

While Paz must cope with borderline personality disorder, Alano faces an equally serious set of challenges related to his hyperthymesia. This condition allows him to remember everything that has ever happened to him and to relive these experiences vividly whenever they are called to mind. Alano is at risk of a mental health crisis whenever his nervous system becomes overloaded. Just as he helps Paz deal with borderline episodes, Paz learns to ground Alano when he becomes emotionally overwhelmed. By the end of the novel, the two boys fall in love and plan a future together, but Alano hints that Paz may not be able to forgive him if Alano’s role in the Death’s Dozen tragedy is ever revealed.

Gloria is Paz’s mother. While she is caring and nurturing, she has also made bad choices in the past that have impacted her son’s mental health. Gloria berates herself for not leaving Paz’s father even after he abused her. Paz only killed his father to prevent him from killing Gloria, so she feels guilty for putting her son in such a terrible position.

In the years since Frankie Dario’s murder, Gloria has found a measure of happiness. She works at a women’s shelter to help those who have experienced abuse as she once did. She has also found love with Rolando and is expecting a baby with him. In spite of these positive changes in her life, Gloria still feels an obligation to keep Paz safe. Her protectiveness creates conflict with Paz that is left unresolved at the end of the novel. However, the sequel holds the prospect of a reconciliation.

Rolando is Gloria’s husband and Paz’s stepfather. His temperament is kind and easy-going. Rolando once worked as a herald shortly after Death-Cast was founded. Because of his acute empathy, he found the work emotionally draining and quit. He was once a grade school guidance counselor and still knows how to deal well with the younger generation. Rolando’s inability to find full-time work causes him some worry, especially with a baby on the way. He is just as concerned as Gloria when Paz develops suicidal tendencies but is just as helpless to prevent the teen from spiraling downward. At the end of the novel, he remains supportive of Gloria and committed to reconciliation with Paz.

Joaquin is Alano’s father and Naya’s husband. Now in his fifties, he is at the apex of his power as the creator of Death-Cast. The company’s success has fed Joaquin’s already big ego and made him think that he is invincible. While he cares deeply for Alano, he is overly protective and believes he knows what is best for his son. Although he isn’t an evil person, Joaquin’s overbearing temperament casts him in the role of the novel’s principal antagonist.

Aside from his devotion to his family, Joaquin is obsessed with upholding the reputation of his company. He tries to prevent negative information from reaching the press. He is especially concerned when Alano cancels his Death-Cast account, thereby suggesting that the heir to the company doesn’t believe in its mission to make people feel more secure.

Ever since the glitch on the first End Day that prevented a dozen people from receiving their notifications, Joaquin has been haunted by this error and the fallout it caused in the lives of the Death’s Dozen family members, including Paz. The ensuing emotional distress has led Joaquin to abuse alcohol. The novel ends with the disclosure that Joaquin reinstated his son’s Death-Cast account, but the ramifications of this high-handed decision will not be resolved until the sequel is published.

Naya is Alano’s mother and Joaquin’s wife. She is the co-owner of Death-Cast and is actively involved in running the company. Unlike her husband, she is emotionally sensitive to her son’s need for personal freedom. However, she is also a protective parent who doesn’t want to see him come to harm. Because Naya tried to conceive a baby a dozen times before Alano’s birth, she is particularly concerned that her only child should continue to survive. Alano frequently comes to her for advice rather than consulting his father because Naya is less judgmental and more open-minded. Still, she doesn’t know about Alano’s previous attempts to die by suicide. Foreshadowing within the book suggests that this secret may be revealed in the novel’s sequel.

Rio is one of Alano’s best friends. Paz describes him as incredibly handsome, and since Alano and Rio were once romantically involved, Paz finds Rio’s attractiveness threatening. The defining moment in Rio’s life came when his older brother was the first victim of the Death-Cast serial killer, who posed as a Last Friend. Because Rio felt so devastated at losing his brother, he has kept Alano at an emotional distance for years. Only after Alano forms a new attachment to Paz does Rio confess that he cares about Alano. When his love is rejected, Rio holds a grudge. The end of the novel shows him estranged from Alano, but this situation may change in the novel’s sequel.

Ariana is Alano’s only other close friend. She is the daughter of Andrea and aspires to become a stage actress someday with the proper training. Ariana has a flamboyant personality and seems very self-involved in her relationship with Alano. After Alano is attacked by a Death Guarder, Ariana is unconcerned that her friend might have died. Instead, she blames him for her mother’s firing because this will mean that Ariana can’t attend an expensive acting school as she had planned.

Andrea is Ariana’s mother. She is the head herald for Death-Cast and has been with the company since its founding. Because she is so detached, she can easily handle the emotionally grueling duties of a herald when breaking End Day news to Deckers. In addition to having icy nerves, Andrea is also unscrupulous and regularly sells classified company information to the press. She justifies this behavior as a way to further her daughter’s future acting career. Andrea is also vindictive. After Joaquin fires her, she allies herself with Carson Dunst. This behavior casts her in the role of secondary antagonist. Her involvement with Death Guard suggests that she will play a large part in attempting to destroy Death-Cast in the sequel.

Dane Madden is Alano’s bodyguard. He is nearly the same age as his charge and acts as Alano’s trainer in self-defense. While Dane is a man of few words, he seems sympathetic to Alano and tries to help rather than hinder the boy’s need for space and personal freedom. After Alano gives him the slip, Dane is fired by Joaquin, but Alano gets him rehired. Dane takes his job quite seriously when physical attacks against Alano escalate. By the end of the novel, he supervises an entire security team to keep Alano and his family safe.

Orion is a character who first appeared in the second book in the series. His life becomes linked to Paz’s when Orion’s lover, Valentino, tries to end Frankie Dario’s murderous attack on Gloria and Rolando. Valentino dies but donates his heart to Orion, who suffers from a heart condition. Orion goes on living but grieves the loss of the love of his life. He ends up writing Golden Heart, which becomes Paz’s favorite book. Orion briefly enters the story when Paz loses the role of Death in the film version of Golden Heart. Orion is sympathetic to Paz’s plight but has no power to change the casting decision.