Booklr

Tamlin scanned my face, and finally nodded. “We’ll start over. Do things differently. When you were gone, I realized … I’d been wrong. So wrong, Feyre. And I’m sorry.”

Too late. Too damned late. But I rested my head on his arm as he slipped it around me and led me toward the house. “It doesn’t matter. I’m home now.”

“Forever,” he promised.

“Forever,” I parroted, glancing behind—to where Lucien stood in the gravel drive.

His gaze on me. Face hard. As if he’d seen through every lie.

As if he knew of the second tattoo beneath my glove, and the glamour I now kept on it.

As if he knew that they had let a fox into a chicken coop—and he could do nothing.

Not unless he never wanted to see his mate—Elain—again.

I gave Lucien a sweet, sleepy smile. So our game began.

We hit the sweeping marble stairs to the front doors of the manor.

And so Tamlin unwittingly led the High Lady of the Night Court into the heart of his territory.

Me:

I’ve been seeing lots of people claiming that there will be a love triangle between Azriel, Elain, and Lucien. I’m going to have to disagree. Although Lucien and Elain are mates, Maas has made clear that people (faeries) can reject the mating bond. There are also a lot of clues that hints towards Lucien ending up with Vassa, or as I will name them: Lassa. (Or Vucien, or Lussa, but I like Lassa better so there. *sticks out tongue*)

““The human queens are still out there,” I said. Maybe I’d hunt them down. “Not for long–not if Vassa has anything to do with it.” “You sound like an acolyte.” Lucien blushed, glancing at Elain. “She’s got a foul temper and a fouler mouth.” He cut me a wry look. “You’ll get along just fine.””

The hints Maas drops in the book are very subtle. And I know I’m probably reaching, here. But Lucien talks admiringly of Vassa–so much so, that Feyre notes it. Lucien also blushes when it is pointed out, and glances at his mate. My guess is that he’s slowly falling for her, and this time it’s based off of personality and the things that really matter, not a mating bond. But he feels like it betrays the bond with Elain, hence the glance in her direction. Not to mention he still probably really likes Elain because she’s amazing. Remember in the first book, when Alis told Feyre that someone who would snap back at him or something would do him some good? And when Feyre did that, he smiled, and that helped fuel their friendship? Now we see that Vassa is cut from the same stone; she has a foul temper, most likely no tolerance for bullshit. And that’s what Lucien likes.

“Indeed, Vassa still remained inside, chatting with Lucien animatedly. I supposed that if she only had until dawn before turning back into that firebird, she wanted to make every minute count. Lucien, surprisingly, was chuckling, his shoulders loose and his head angled while he listened.”

Lucien is absent for the majority of this book. That means he and Elain have virtually no time to bond and get to know each other. On the contrary, Lucien and Vassa took a trip around the world. Vassa was found by Lucien, who also found Feyre’s father, and they raced back to the battle. In the midst of such a tense atmosphere, where they didn’t know if they were going to live or die, they became friends. It is so much more natural for them to become a couple rather than Lucien and Elain. They know each other well and make each other laugh. Elain and Lucien are still awkward around each other. They don’t know how to act.

“Elain fell into step beside me, peering at Lucien. He noticed it. “I heard you made the killing blow,” he said.

Elain studied the trees ahead. “Nesta did. I just stabbed him.”

Lucien seemed to fumble for a response.”

Look! They are still so awkward around each other. People may say that it’s because they have feelings for each other, but NO!!!! It’s because they don’t know each other at all yet!!!!!! Which is why them suddenly becoming a couple would be unnatural!!!!!!! I mean the entire infatuation the Lucien had with Elain in the beginning is literally only because of the mating bond and/or her beauty. Literally nothing else.

And yes I know Vassa is a mortal queen, but I have a feeling that breaking her curs is going to be faarrrrr more complicated. I mean, she turns into some completely different species every day, it obviously is going to have some effect on her when it’s broken.