Jude is the protagonist of The Wicked King. The majority of the novel is told from her first-person perspective, except one chapter told from her perspective in third person. Jude is a teenage mortal girl who has grown up in the faerie realm alongside her sister Taryn. Both suffer discrimination and racial prejudice because of their species, and Jude dreams of proving herself worthy of a place in the faerie courts. She is tactical and calculating, excellent at analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both her enemies and her friends. She does, however, suffer from pride and paranoia—both of which are reasonable extensions of her hard-won position, but inflated by the natural impulsivity of her youth.

Throughout the novel, Jude fights to hold onto the precarious power she has obtained in the events leading up to the story. Her ambitions drive a wedge into her interpersonal relationships, such as those with Taryn, Cardan, and Madoc. However, her isolation from her family brings her closer to her fellow spies the Bomb, the Roach, and even the Ghost—making his eventual betrayal even more heartbreaking.

Despite the hard choices Jude makes in pursuit of her role behind the throne, what she craves most is acceptance.