The Seal That Should Not Exist

He was born to protect the Twelve. She awakened the seal they erased. At Shengxiao Academy, every student belongs to a House, every House answers to a sacred seal, and every seal obeys the empire’s perfect order. Lian Su has none of that. No House. No noble blood. No protection. She arrives with only one chance to survive the academy’s rituals — until the sacred gates reject all twelve official seals and her blood awakens the forbidden thirteenth: the Fox Seal, a power erased from history and hunted for generations. To the academy, Lian is not a student. She is a threat. And Ren Longwei, the Dragon heir sworn to preserve the Twelve, is ordered to watch her every move. He should expose her. He should fear her. He may be the only person standing between her and the empire that wants her buried. As rival Houses sharpen their alliances, ancient trials reveal hidden loyalties, and forbidden magic begins to stir beneath the academy, Lian must uncover why the Fox Seal was erased — before the truth costs her blood, her name, and the boy who was meant to be her enemy. Because at Shengxiao Academy, belonging is a weapon. Memory is a crime. And some seals were buried because they could break the world. The Seal That Should Not Exist is the first book in The Thirteenth Seal Academy, a dark academy romantasy series inspired by the Chinese zodiac, featuring forbidden magic, rival Houses, ritual trials, ancient bloodlines, imperial secrets, and slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension.