Page 165 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

And in that moment, something shifted in Jax’s eyes. The bravado faded. The jokes died on his tongue.

And what was left… was real.

He cleared his throat and nodded once.

“I look forward to pleasuring you,” Jax responded formally.

Ferrula’s lips quirked—just slightly. Not a smile. Not quite.

But it was enough.

And in Dirian tradition… that was a proposal.

Tae blew out a breath. “Let the courtship begin.”

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

The dining hall was quiet for once, just early risers, a few yawning warders, and the soft clatter of utensils against chipped plates. Our squad took our usual table in the corner.

We were halfway through breakfast—eggs, overly chewy bacon, and something the kitchen swore was bread, when the doors opened and Ferrula walked in, composed and straight-backed as ever. Jax followed behind her, his hair sticking up in three different directions and a limp to his swagger that was almost theatrical.

They sat down like nothing had happened, as if they hadn’t disappeared into our common room the night before under the very obvious guise of “privacy.”

Naturally, our squad had spent the evening speculating. Loudly.

Apparently, the suspense had been too much for Tae.

He turned to Ferrula, barely swallowing a bite of sausage. “So… how was your night?”

Ferrula nodded, utterly unfazed. “It was adequate.”

Riven made a choking sound. Naia’s shoulders shook violently as she buried her face in her mug.

Jax’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me, Ferr? I was slurring my words an hour ago!”

Tae chuckled, but Ferrula gave him a flat look, as if she were commenting on the state of the weather. “I gifted you with a blow job. You have no reason to complain.”

Jax blinked, stunned silent.

Naia snorted so hard she choked on her juice and had to grab Riven’s sleeve for support.

Riven was trying, and failing, to keep a straight face, while I bit down on my lip to keep from laughing outright.

Cordelle, poor Cordelle, had found his porridge deeply interesting and hadn’t looked up once.

Riven wiped her eyes and turned to me. “Is this play-by-play of their sex life going to continue?”

I nodded solemnly. “Dirian women believe a man should be proud to… keep his woman happy.”

Naia grinned, elbowing Riven. “I think I want to be a Dirian.”

Riven raised her cup in mock salute. “Me too. Who knew Ferrula would be the superstar of this group?”

“I did,” Ferrula said plainly, spearing a piece of bacon with deadly intensity.

And we all lost it.