You got it. Here is an even shorter summary, getting straight to the core of Part One.

Shadow Flame: A Brief Summary of Part One

In the fire-worshipping kingdom of Ignisgard, Lyra is a loyal soldier whose life is upended when she instinctively unleashes a forbidden shadow power during a duel with her best friend, Kaelen. Swearing him to secrecy, Lyra is consumed by fear as she struggles to hide her newfound abilities in a society that purges all forms of dark magic with fire.

Her search for answers leads her to forbidden lore, revealing that shadow was once part of a natural balance before being demonized by the kingdom's founders. As her control over the power wanes and suspicion mounts, she is eventually cornered by her commanders. Choosing survival over submission, Lyra uses her shadow abilities to create a chaotic diversion, allowing her to escape the capital city.

Part One ends with Lyra as a declared heretic, a fugitive who has lost everything. Alone and hunted, she flees towards the desolate Whispering Wastes, seeking the exiled Ash-Kin to understand the dangerous truth of who she is.