Zélie is the primary narrator and protagonist of the novel. She has white hair, representative of her status as a maji, and is told by multiple characters that she looks like her mother, who was also a maji. As a Reaper, Zélie can control spirits, bringing them back from the dead to do her bidding in exchange for allowing them to finally rest in peace. She also gains the ability of the moonstone, which allows her to create cênters—people who can draw magic from others to combine it within herself.

Zélie carries several scars. She has physical scars, such as the word “maggot” carved into her back by King Saran, as well as emotional scars, such as trauma from having lost her parents and her village at the hands of Saran and, at least in her eyes, Inan. As a result, she thinks frequently of fleeing from Orïsha and abandoning the maji to stop the violence perpetrated against her. However, the other maji see her as a savior; they call her the “Soldier of Death” and immediately make her one of the leading elders of their community.

As a dynamic character, Zélie changes throughout the text.