A Shadow Bright and Burning

A Shadow Bright and Burning is the first book in the new Kingdom on Fire book series by Jessica Cluess.

Official Synopsis
Henrietta can burst into flames. Forced to reveal her powers to save a friend, she's shocked when instead of being executed, she's named the first female in hundreds of years and invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers. Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the prophesied one, the girl who will defeat the ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. one will challenge her/ One will fight for her. One will betray her. But Henrietta is not the chosen one. as she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city~and the one she loves? exhilarating and gripping Jessica Cluess' spellbinding first book in the Kingdom On Fire series introduces a powerful, unforgettable heroine and a world filled with magic, romance and betrayal.

One of the royal sorcerers visits the Brimthorn School for Girls in Yorkshire to find a witch, the cause of the fires Henrietta had been creating in order to release her power. After the trials Master Colegrind hits Henrietta on the back of the neck with his cane twenty (20) times when Master Agrippa walks in. Agrippa does not witness the caning but notices Henrietta getting off the ground while the cane is in Colegrind's hands and "politely" sends Colegrind to fix his carriage. Henrietta and Agrippa talk about the fires, the Familiars and the Ancients; particularly Korozoth, the Great Shadow Fog. They also talk about the War with the Ancients. Henrietta sings a song about the Ancients.

"Seven are the Ancients, seven are the days, Monday for R'helm, the Skinless Man, On-Tez on Tuesday, the old Vulture Lady, Callax is Wednesday, the Child Eater, Zem the Great Serpent crisps Thursday with his breath, On Friday fear Korozoth, the Shadow and Fog, Never sail on Saturday says Nemneris the Water Spider, And rain on Sunday brings Molochoron the Pale Destroyer."

Henrietta meets with Rook to help ease the pain of his scars and as they walk back to Brimthorn they are attacked by a group of Familiars sent by Korozoth to come and collect Rook. During the fight Agrippa comes to help and Henrietta has to reveal her fire powers in order to defend Rook. After the fight Henrietta loses consciousness and is taken back to the school where she is treated by a hobgoblin and told that she is not a witch but a sorcerer, the first female sorcerer in years meaning she is The Chosen One; the sorcerer destined to defeat all seven (7) Ancients and send them back to their world. Upon leaving for London with Agrippa and Rook, Henrietta burns Colegrind's cane to stop him from beating the other ladies at the school. At the warded gates to London proper Henrietta meets Magnus and the trio are met in the main room where Arthur and Cavaliere balance 20 books using their power over the air; the spectacle promptly comes crashing down with a book knocking Agrippa to the ground. Clarence Lambe and Isaac Wolff greet Henrietta but immediately return to their chess game. George Blackwood shows up late and talks rudely about Henrietta before dinner that night, not that he knows she is there. Augustus Palehook and Horace Whitechurch are introduced when Henrietta preforms the first test of her magic by comanding the elements.

Magnus escorts Henrietta downstairs to the servants quarter to find that Rook is eating dinner apart from all the other servants. Rook and Henrietta have a short chat which is interrupted by Lilly who drags Rook away and prompts Henrietta to walk back up to her room with Magnus inquiring into how long Rook has been in love with her. Henrietta calls her staff Porridge and tries to master the element of water, without success despite the three sorcerers lending her power, and promptly bursts into flame. She leaves for the library and finds the prophesy

"A girl-child of sorcerer stock rises from the ashes of a life. you shall glimpse her when Shadow burns in the Fog above a bight city. You shall know her when Poison drowns beneath the dark Waters of the cliffs. You shall obey her when Sorrow falls unto the fierce army of the Blooded Man. She will burn in the heart of a black forest; her fire will light the path.  She is two, the girl and the Woman, and one must destroy the other. For only then may three become one, and triumph reign in England."