Who Is The Protagonist In 'Burned' And Her Powers?

Meet Lily Marks—the walking inferno with a heart. Unlike typical pyrokinetics, her fire reflects her psyche. Joy sparks golden embers that heal; rage unleashes black flames corrosive enough to eat through concrete. The novel’s best twist? Her power isn’t innate. It’s a curse from a phoenix spirit bound to her during childhood, which explains why she dreams in ashes and resurrects minor injuries by ‘burning them away.’

Her combat style is brutal elegance. She’ll wrap flames around her fists for close-quarters brawls or compress fire into diamond-hard pellets for long-range sniping. The phoenix connection grants limited precognition—she senses danger as ‘heat flares’ in her vision. This makes her terrifying in fights, anticipating attacks before they land. But the spirit’s influence grows with each use, threatening to consume her humanity. The climax sees her bargaining with it, offering memories as fuel for one final, city-saving blaze. It’s less about fire and more about sacrifice.

Lily Marks from 'Burned' is one of the most complex fire users I’ve seen in urban fantasy. Her abilities evolve throughout the story, starting as raw, uncontrollable bursts and maturing into precise instruments of war and art. Early on, she accidentally torches her school gym during a panic attack—a scene that haunts her. Later, she learns to channel fire through objects, creating heat-seeking projectiles or forging temporary weapons from molten debris.

Her secondary power, thermal absorption, adds depth. She can drain heat from enemies, leaving frostbite in her wake, or siphon energy from explosions to fuel herself. The book cleverly ties this to her emotional arc: she’s literally draining warmth from her life to survive. By the climax, she combines both abilities in a breathtaking move—freezing a lake solid to trap enemies, then igniting the oxygen above it for a fiery knockout. The author avoids making her invincible; overuse gives her hypothermia or heatstroke, grounding the power in real consequences.

The supporting cast plays off her skills perfectly. Her mentor, a cryokinetic, teaches her to balance heat theft with fire creation, while her love interest (a tech whiz) designs gadgets to stabilize her outbursts. What sets Lily apart is her creativity—she uses fire for illusions, communication via smoke signals, and even cauterizing wounds mid-battle. It’s refreshing to see a protagonist whose power grows through ingenuity, not just brute force.

The protagonist in 'Burned' is Lily Marks, a fire-wielding badass with a twist. She doesn’t just shoot flames—her power is tied to emotions. When pissed, her fire turns blue, hot enough to vaporize metal. When calm, she can sculpt it into intricate shapes, even healing minor burns. Her control isn’t perfect, though. Strong emotions make her combust spontaneously, which is why she wears flame-resistant gear. The coolest part? She can absorb heat from surroundings, freezing objects solid while charging up her own attacks. It’s a double-edged power: lethal but isolating. The novel explores her struggle to balance destruction and connection, making her more than just a pyrokinetic cliché.