idk

- elain is almost definitely having the next book based off the two bonus chapters. so is azriel. and elriel being set up like this regardless if they're endgame or not solidifies their books are together considering Rhysand set up a whole plot on his own with them. SJM said before each book is about one couple getting together, she couldve not potentially meant to mean only one per book but as far as that goes, there's no room left for Gwyn/lucien in elriels story to have their own journeys and endgames. she's unlikely with what we know to be writing a book about BOTH couples getting together. not to mention it's just extremely unlikely elain is going to be used just as a plot point for azriel. We know she has her own story coming and I don't know why she'd be a big part of azriels book but not have a POV.

- rhysand set up a forbidden love trope and their kiss was interrupted/azriel had to force himself to say it was a mistake/elriel are in a bad spot right now, why would sjm put all that together if she wasn't setting up a slow burn journey. if she was setting up gwyn and elain not being what's best for azriel she wouldn't have made their relationship so complicated

- why would gwyn and azriel end up together when he regifted his present to elain to gwyn just because he was told to stay away from elain lmao that never in any storytelling suggests great things for the relationship

- why would sjm put so much long term thought into elriel to just let it go in 2 seconds over a character we JUST met and is unlikely to ever be a main character. they've been set up since acomaf and acowar and she went through all the effort with the longing breadcrumbs in acofas/acosf

- gwyn as a character doesn't really add up to main character material, she already went through her journey in nestas book and while she still has more to go through (as nesta does and everyone does) it would just be odd to give her a whole book when she's not an integral part of these books

- sjm has been setting up the mate bond being rejected for elucien for awhile, just as she's been setting up elriel for awhile. elriel came true (which btw, the people who are so confident elriel is dust were the same ones who were so confident elriel were like siblings so lmao why are we trusting their bad takes?) so the mate bond rejection is likely to also come true. The ONLY way gwynriel would be endgame is if she did something so corny and made them mates, so you really think almost every main character in these books are conveniently going to end up happy with their mate when 1. mates were supposed to be rare and 2. the emphasis the cauldron can get it wrong, it would be so dry and overdone to go through TWO more mate bond journeys would be so ridiculous. What we haven't seen now is the impact and consequence of a mate bond being rejected

- gwynriel doesn't have any obstacles against them and would be so easy to get together. You can maybe say azriels trauma/obsession with elain are their obstacles but that is soooo weak for a whole 700 paged book. SJM said her couples need something in their way (those aren't her exact words I can't remember what she said exactly but something like that). Elriel is the relationship that has the forbidden love component and if they got together a whole war could be started. even elucien doesn't have much against them except elains unwillingness to give it a try. I don't know how you would think a gwynriel book would at all be interesting for anyone to read about