Princess Winter Blackburn is Queen Levana's stepdaughter and the widely beloved princess of Luna. She refuses to use her Lunar gift of mind manipulation because she believes controlling others is inherently cruel. This refusal causes a condition known as "Lunar sickness," which plagues her with violent and terrifying hallucinations. Despite the ruthless environment of the Lunar court, she maintains a gentle disposition and forms genuine connections with the common people.

Jacin Clay is a royal guard in Levana's court and Princess Winter Blackburn's closest confidant. Though he presents a cold and pragmatic exterior, his primary motivation is keeping Winter safe in a highly dangerous political environment. He adapts to Levana's system and obeys her orders solely to maintain his position as Winter's protector, often burying his own moral compass to ensure her survival.

Linh Cinder is a cyborg mechanic who has accepted her true identity as Princess Selene, the rightful heir to the Lunar throne. She leads a small, ragtag rebellion against Queen Levana to prevent a devastating war between Earth and Luna. As a cyborg in a society that devalues them, she battles personal insecurities while learning to embrace her leadership role and build a coalition against a tyrant.

Emperor Kaito is the young ruler of the Eastern Commonwealth on Earth. He faces immense pressure to secure the antidote for letumosis, a plague systematically ravaging his people. He agrees to a politically fraught engagement with Queen Levana as a stalling tactic. He secretly works with Linh Cinder's crew to overthrow the Lunar queen from within her own capital.

Scarlet Benoit is a pragmatic and resilient former farmer who is held captive as a "pet" for Princess Winter Blackburn. Despite the psychological toll of her imprisonment, she remains fiercely loyal to her friends and refuses to break under the Lunar nobility's mockery. She provides blunt honesty and grounded courage to the rebellion.

Ze'ev Kesley is a former Lunar special operative whose body was genetically altered to make him a fierce wolf soldier. He battles the animalistic instincts forced upon him by Levana's scientists, fighting to hold onto his humanity and his memories. His primary motivation is reuniting with Scarlet Benoit, whose absence leaves him deeply vulnerable and erratic.

Crescent Moon Darnel is a gifted hacker and a Lunar "shell"—a person born without the ability to manipulate bioelectricity. She spent years isolated in a satellite, making her socially awkward but technically brilliant. She plays a critical role in the rebellion's communication and surveillance operations, learning to trust her own bravery outside the safety of her screens.

Carswell Thorne is a notorious fugitive, a former military cadet, and the captain of the stolen Rampion. He often hides his genuine care for his crew behind charm and humor. Though he maintains a roguish exterior and a criminal past, he repeatedly risks his life and freedom for the success of Linh Cinder's rebellion.

Iko is an android with a "faulty" personality chip that gives her human-like emotions, humor, and empathy. She is Linh Cinder's oldest friend and the emotional heart of the crew. Though she occupies a mechanical body, her fierce loyalty, anxiety, and affection demonstrate a genuine humanity that her friends deeply respect and protect.

Queen Levana is the tyrannical ruler of Luna, maintaining absolute power through intense bioelectric mind control. She uses illusions, known as glamour, to project an image of flawless beauty while demanding total obedience from her subjects. She views fear as loyalty and ruthlessly suppresses any threat to her authority, including the legitimate heir to the throne.

Thaumaturge Aimery Park is Queen Levana's chief enforcer and one of the most powerful magic users on Luna. He executes the queen's cruelest orders with precision and cold detachment. He fixates on Princess Winter Blackburn, seeking to break her resistance and force her into a marriage to prove his dominance.

Maha Kesley is a citizen of Luna's outer sectors and the mother of Ze'ev Kesley. She lives in poverty surrounded by regolith dust. She demonstrates quiet courage by hiding her son's friends from Levana's forces, offering compassion that contrasts sharply with the cruelty of the Lunar regime.

Alpha Strom is the leader of Regiment 117, a group of mutated Lunar wolf soldiers. Levana's thaumaturges initially control him through strict pain-based obedience. He demonstrates the capacity for independent choice when presented with an alternative to enslavement by the rebellion.

Liam Kinney is a guard in Queen Levana's military who holds a personal debt to Princess Winter Blackburn for saving his sister's life. He balances his official duties with quiet acts of subversion, demonstrating that resistance can come from within the regime's own ranks.

Linh Adri is Linh Cinder's cruel stepmother, brought to Luna to answer for her association with the cyborg mechanic. She maintains her harsh, dismissive attitude toward Cinder, prioritizing her own survival and social standing over familial loyalty.

Konn Torin is Emperor Kaito's trusted royal advisor. He provides steady, pragmatic counsel during the escalating conflict with Luna, balancing his desire to protect the emperor with the grim strategic realities of war and the letumosis plague.

Linh Pearl is Linh Cinder's stepsister, who suffers a loss of social standing on Earth due to Cinder's actions. She is dragged into the political conflict when Lunar forces violently capture her to use as leverage against the rebellion.