This has probably been pointed out before but i’d like to reiterate it 😀
Regarding Azriel’s ‘unbothered’ reaction towards finding out that Gwyn got thrown into the Blood Rite….. Can we just agree that Cassian was not a reliable narrator at that particular point of time?
When the IC gathered at Emerie’s wrecked place:
Cassian couldn’t breathe. Hadn’t been able to breathe or speak for long minutes now….
They were speaking, Azriel with some urgency, but Cassian didnt hear him, heard nothing but the roaring in his head…
And he could do nothing to interfere, not without damning them all. His hands shook. “So, what- we just sit on our asses for a week and wait?” The idea was abhorrent. Feyre gripped his trembling fingers, squeezing tight. “Did you- Cassian, weren’t you listening at all when we got here?” No, he’d barely heard anything.
Cassian was distraught and in his fucking head at that point of time, bro was STRESSED. Do you think he actually has the mental capacity to take notice of the others’ reactions? I actually felt it was pretty deliberate of Sarah to leave out Azriel’s reactions. Even when Cassian said to Rhys “Winnow me to her. Az, you find Emerie and Gwyn.”, Sarah did not give us anything regarding Azriel’s facial expression, his body language, na-da. Because it would have been a delicate thing to write without giving much away.
And after having a few days to calm the storm in his head, Cassian says to Azriel amidst their spy work, “There are plenty of other unspeakable things that could be happening to her, to Emerie and Gwyn”, Cassian actually took noticed that the shadows deepened around Azriel, his siphons gleaming like cobalt fire. And Azriel, the big bad scary shadowsinger and spymaster of the Night Court actually stutters with his response: “You-we-trained them well, Cassian. Trust in that. It’s all we can do.”
In addition, there’s just a distinct way that Sarah loves to use when writing about her mates: The male never coddles the female. Rhys had faith in Feyre’s abilities when they were under the mountain. And when she joined the IC, he lets her manifest her abilities without worrying and cooing over her. Rowan was so damn strict on Aelin’s training in Heir of Fire, never pulling his punches when they fought with each other. And despite his initial strong protective reaction, Cassian decides to trust Nesta’s abilities to protect herself in the rite after his emotions settle down.
This is exactly why I don’t think the lack of notable reactions that Azriel displayed towards Gwyn being thrown into the rite translate to that he doesn’t care about her or that they are not mates.
*mic drops*
