Episode: The Wedding Night

Home was a tower. Not a palace. Not a bed. _A tower_.

Zhang Wei took her there after the wedding. Past the kneeling court. Past her sisters’ pale faces. Past the six generals still choking on shadows. He didn’t carry her. Ghost Kings don’t carry. They _claim_. He walked, and she walked beside him, and the whole kingdom got out of their way.

The tower was his. Had been, since he became King of Ghosts. Stone walls. No windows. No doors, until he wanted them. It existed between heartbeats. Between living and dead.

_“No one comes here,”_ he said. _“Not your sisters. Not your wolves. Not the court. Here, you’re not Princess. Not General. Here, you’re mine.”_

_“And you’re mine,”_ she said. Not a question. A correction. _“That was the deal.”_

The room was cold. Always cold. One bed. Stone slab, really. No furs. No silk. Ghosts don’t sleep. Ghosts don’t need comfort.

He didn’t touch her. Not yet. Just stood there, crown of rusted iron catching no light. _“You’re afraid,”_ he said.

_“I’m not.”_ Lie. She was. But not of him. Of _this_. Of wanting something she couldn’t kill. _“I’ve never been alone with a king before. Only killed them.”_

_“Good,”_ he said. _“Then you know how to handle power.”_

He crossed to her. Not fast. Not slow. _Inevitable_. Like winter. Like death. Stopped one breath away. _“The court thinks this night is for heirs. For sealing the marriage. For giving them a prince to stop their fear.”_

_“Is it?”_ Her voice was steel. No tremor. Generals don’t tremble.

_“No,”_ he said. _“This night is for war. We name the first target. My bloodline. Your revenge starts when I say it starts.”_

He lifted his hand. Traced the air beside her jaw. Didn’t touch. _Almost_ touched. Cold rolled off his fingers. _“You promised me my brother. Zhang Wei Ren. He rules my old kingdom now. Sits on my throne. Sleeps in my bed. With my crown.”_

_“He drove the sword through your back,”_ she said. Remembered the story from the Ghost Market. _“Your own blood.”_

_“Brothers kill slower than enemies,”_ he said. _“Enemies want you dead. Brothers want you _gone_. Want the world to forget you ever ruled. Want your name carved off the walls.”_

His hand dropped. _“But we don’t start with him. He’s too guarded. Too late. We start with the one who opened the gate. The one who let him into my chambers that night.”_

_“Name,”_ she said.

_“Zhang Min,”_ he said. _“My cousin. My blood. She told him where I slept. Told him when the guards changed. Told him I trusted her. She’s _Lady of the Southern Court_ now. Married to one of your wolves. General Kuo.”_

Zhanyi went still. _“Kuo took bribes at Black River. He’s why Father’s army drowned.”_

Zhang Wei’s mouth curved. Not a smile. _A cut_. _“Then our first target serves us both. I get my cousin. You get your traitor. One throat. Two revenges.”_

_“When?”_ she asked.

_“Not yet,”_ he said. _“We wait till Ep 44. The list starts there. Before that, we build. We make them fear the name _Zhang Wei_ again. We make them fear _Li Zhanyi_ more.”_

_“And until then?”_ Her heart was hammering. Not fear. _War drums_.

He finally touched her. One finger. Under her chin. Tilting her face up. Cold. Dead. _Hers_. _“Until then, we learn each other. How you fight. How you bleed. How you _want_. Because when we start killing, Zhanyi, we don’t stop. And I don’t want you hesitating when I tell you to burn a city.”_

_“I won’t hesitate,”_ she said. _“I’ve been waiting to burn cities since I was twelve.”_

_“Good,”_ he said. _“Because my brother won’t be the only one. My bloodline runs deep. Uncles. Aunts. Nephews who cheer my death at feasts. We take them all. One by one. Until my throne is ash and your border is safe.”_

_“And after?”_ she asked. _“After your revenge. After my wolves are dead. What happens to _us_?”_

He looked at her. Really looked. Three hundred years of death staring at twenty years of lightning. _“After?”_ he said. _“We find out if ghosts can have _after_. If generals can have peace. If Ep 50 is real.”_

He didn’t kiss her. Didn’t take her to the stone bed. Not yet.

He walked to the wall. Pressed his palm to it. The stone rippled. Names appeared. Scratched deep. His bloodline. His list.

_“Sleep,”_ he told her. _“Tomorrow, we make the kingdom kneel properly. Tomorrow, we start becoming the storm.”_

She didn’t sleep. She stood beside him. Memorizing names.

Zhang Min. First.

But not until Ep 44.

*End Ep 3.*

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