Azriel wanting to get rid of the necklace also suggests he didn’t intend to see Gwyn often. Seeing her would mean seeing the necklace again. And that’s clearly something he wants to avoid. Yes, Gwyn might feel happy receiving the gift, but for him, it would carry a sense of sadness every time he looks at it. And if he doesn’t want to see the necklace, it follows that he didn’t plan on seeing her either.

So here we have definitive proof that the cauldron is corrupt. The question has been answered. It doesn't say that it always gets things wrong but it absolutely implies that it can't always be trusted.

Examples:

Rhysand's parents

Tamlin's parents

“What if the Cauldron was wrong?”

“The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it’s possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another.”

People see this as a sense of entitlement but I'd like to offer a different perspective. Azriel hasn't spoken to anyone that we know of about his feelings for Elian. He feels this attraction to her and he can't explain why. There's longing, pining, and yearning that is presented to us by SJM not just from Azriel but on Elian's end too.

Azriel is a spymaster which means he frequently weighs the risks of things. His temper did get the better of him at the High Lord's Meeting because of the history with Eris and Mor (also how protective he feels over her). He's a person not a machine and that's not just any regular outburst that's been building for 500 years.

Some people say that Azriel's attraction to Elian is purely physical. Let's talk about that because why would he risk what could happen with the Autumn Court just for a damn hookup? He'd only be willing to do that for something deeper...like I don't know LOVE.

Azriel has been in love with Mor for centuries. Everyone in the Inner Circle knows it. They all know the tension. They all skate around it. And Azriel isn’t stupid, he sees how Cassian and Mor interact, how that dynamic helps Mor keep him at arm’s length. On top of that, Azriel’s feelings for Mor have been actively exploited. He’s lashed out publicly on her behalf. His deepest vulnerability hasn’t just been exposed. It’s been used against him.

Can you imagine what that does to someone? To have your deepest hurt known, discussed, and leveraged by both friends and enemies?

And yet, antis expect Azriel to simply turn around and tell Rhys, “I’m in love with Elain.”

Why would he?

Azriel’s affections have been trivialized for centuries. Treated like an open secret. A running joke. A convenient pressure point. How is he supposed to feel safe being vulnerable again, especially about a situation that’s even more precarious? How is he supposed to trust his own feelings when history tells him they’ll be dismissed, misunderstood, or weaponized?

Azriel revealing his interest in Elain isn’t just a confession. It’s a test. A quiet, terrifying question: Does my brother actually see me? Will he accept me if I’m honest?

And what does Rhys do?

He rejects him.

We like to believe Rhys is the most perceptive, the one who always understands the truth of a situation. But he’s just as capable of misunderstanding his brothers as Elain’s sisters are of misunderstanding her. Azriel likely knows this. He probably knows that if he openly declared love for Elain, Rhys would shake his head in disbelief.

And Rhys proves it by bringing up Mor as a deterrent.

Azriel doesn’t take the bait.

So what does that tell us?

Is Azriel suddenly “over” Mor simply because he has feelings for Elain? Or has his relationship with his feelings for Mor always been fractured? Has Mor been not just an unrequited love but a shield, something Azriel could hide behind to avoid intimacy with other women and to keep the IC at a safe distance?

Azriel’s conversation with Rhys isn’t a bold declaration of love because it’s the first time he ever tries to explain his feelings. And he does it the only way he knows how and the only way he thinks will appeal to Rhys. He does it by hiding behind logic, destiny, patterns, and the rules of his world. Because logic is safer than honesty. Logic gives him distance. Logic protects him from the rejection he already expects.

Offered his hand to Elain. Willingly.

Cradled her to his chest. Desperately.

Carried her into the townhouse BRIDAL STYLE.

Like Sir. SIR.

WE SEE YOU.

⊹pov: she's an elain archeron girl⊹

The bonus chapter from A Court of Silver Flames is not some sweeping, swoony love scene. It’s a quiet, emotionally painful look at a man wrestling with feelings he doesn’t believe he’s allowed to have. From the first page, we learn that Azriel isn’t in a place of romantic bliss—he’s in emotional torment:

“Too many wants and needs left his skin overheated and pulling taut across his bones.”

“So he slept only when his body gave out.”

This is a man haunted. Not content, not satisfied. His insomnia isn’t caused by lust—it’s caused by internal war between desire and restraint. He aches for Elain but doesn’t act on it. He denies himself even the right to imagine a future with her:

“He hadn’t gotten that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to.”

That isn’t evidence of one-dimensional lust. It’s an admission that he can’t let himself hope. The physical fantasies are all he allows, because believing in anything more feels dangerous. This is shame, not indulgence. Then the scene turns heated. Azriel has desire for Elain. No one denies that.

But look closely: it’s not casual. It’s tortured, controlled, and rooted in shame.

“It was a sacrilege for his fingers to touch her skin, tainting her with his presence.”

That isn’t lust.

Lust doesn’t think you’re unworthy.

Lust doesn’t call touch “sacrilege.”

Lust doesn’t ache and pull back and self-loathe.

His thoughts are carnal and conflicted. That’s key. When Elain leans in and gives him verbal and non-verbal consent, it nearly destroys him. This isn’t a man chasing gratification. This is a man drowning in emotion. If all he wanted was sex, he would’ve taken it. She was willing. The room was empty. No one was watching. But he didn’t. Instead, when Rhys interrupts him, Azriel steps back. He apologizes. He says “This was a mistake.”

This is restraint. This is guilt. This is not lust-driven behavior. He doesn’t resent Elain for the moment. He isn’t frustrated that it was ruined. He’s devastated because he’s convinced it can never happen again. Azriel’s training scene with Gwyn is emotionally disconnected. He notices her improvement. . He trains her like he trains others. But the tone is completely different. There’s no pining. No aching. No shame. He gives her the necklace not out of desire, but out of kindness and guilt.

“Tell her it was from Rhys.”

He doesn’t want credit. He doesn’t want it to be known that he even gave her anything. Let's not forget the Gwyn scene happened when Azriel was in emotional withdrawal. He just winnowed away from the most painful interaction he’s had.The bonus chapter is not about Elain being nothing more than a sexual fantasy. It’s about Azriel’s deep internal conflict—his desire, his guilt, and the love he believes he’ll never be allowed to act on. If you’re only reading the chapter for what he says out loud, you’re missing the entire emotional subtext. Because if anything is clear in this chapter, it’s this: He wants Elain.

The reason so many Elriels don’t ship Elucien isn’t because we hate Lucien. It’s because Elain and Lucien are consistently described as uncomfortable around each other, and Elain has made it very clear that she doesn’t want to be around him. She avoids him. She won’t talk to him. We’re not making this up—it’s right there in canon.

Now, I get it—they’re mates. But when did that become an obligation for her to love him? That logic is soaked in misogyny. You’re telling me a woman should ignore her discomfort and just submit to the bond because fate said so? Romanticizing a bond that disregards consent isn’t cute. Elain is not a prize for Lucien’s loyalty points. She can choose who she loves. Full stop.

And you know what really gets me? I’ve even seen antis try to say, “Well, if Elain ends up with Lucien, it’s still her choice.” And like… YES, that’s exactly our point?? We agree. Because that’s what it’s about: Elain’s choice. We’ve never said Elain isn’t allowed to choose Lucien. We’ve said that right now, canonically and currently, she is avoiding him and has shown clear romantic interest in Azriel. She’s emotionally present with Azriel. She gives him gifts. She talks to him. She wants to be around him. The energy is not the same.That’s why Elriels ship Elriel. Because right now, Azriel and Elain canonically want each other. We ship Elriel because Elain and Azriel have actually shown mutual interest in each other, and it’s compelling. It’s romantic. It’s slow-burn tension and emotional connection. Elriels ship Elriel not just because of vibes, but because the text supports it. And we’re not clinging to it out of stubbornness—we support Elriel because Elain has shown she wants Azriel. That’s not just a headcanon. That’s canon.

And here's the kicker: if Elain were to genuinely choose Lucien in the future? You know what most Elriels would do? Respect it. Because at the end of the day, we are Elriels because we care about Elain. We want her to be happy. We support her agency, her voice, her choices.

And let’s be honest—have you ever seen an Elriel hate on Elain? Genuinely asking. Because Elriels? We adore her. We defend her. We center her. She is our girl. We ship Elriel because we love Elain, not because we want to push her into a romance to fit someone else’s narrative. Meanwhile, some of y’all only “like” Elain when she’s far away from Azriel, when she’s quiet and convenient and not interfering with your preferred ship. That’s not love. That’s tolerance. And it shows.

Elriels aren’t anti-Lucien. We’re pro-Elain.

So when people say we’re just anti-Elucien for the sake of it—it’s tired. Elriels aren’t rooting against Lucien. We’re rooting for Elain. For her agency. For her happiness. For whoever she wants.

HOFAS SPOILERS below

____

We often hear that there is no way that Azriel is not fully Illyrian. There are people who absolutely insist that that's all he is, and despite a whole list of 'unusuals' about him, they refuse to acknowledge that he might be something entirely different than just a simple Illyrian.

Setting aside his Seven Siphons and his immense killing power, which he sort of randomly has, alongside Cassian and literally no one else, he is also a Carynthian, a Shadowsinger, and an "illyrian' who can winnow--none of these are capabilities that other Illyrians have. He also carries Truth Teller, a Made weapon, no less.

I was chatting with @shitwillnotbegiven about something unrelated, and then the highlighted paragraph (above) jumped out at me.

In it, we have Vesperus the Asteri who's been kept in a glass coffin for 10K years, and stuck under the Prison, unable to wake or escape. Bryce, Nesta and Azriel happen upon the glass coffin and wake Vesperus up, but don't let her out of the coffin.

Now, if you haven't read HOFAS, a little background: Prythian is/was a land that overflowed with wild natural magic. When the Asteri conquered it, they made the Fae of Prythian pay a Tithe (no doubt the remnants of that custom trickled down all the way to when Tamlin collected the Tithe from his citizens) of their magic, siphoning some of it to sustain themselves.

Let's examine the passage above:

Kneel, soldier. Make the Tithe so I can regain my strength and leave this cage.

Next to Azriel, Nesta (Made) and Bryce (a Starborn visitor from Midgard, which Vesperus isn't familiar with) are standing, and arguably, both Nesta and Bryce are SIGNIFICANTLY more powerful than Azriel.

Yet, Vesperus demands that HE make the Tithe. Not the two (non native) but very powerful Fae.

Now, let's go back allllll the way to early ACOMAF, where Feyre meets the Inner Circle for the first time. When she is introduced to Cassian and Azriel, Cassian jovially announces 'we are just Illyrians' and that they have 'no magic'. The only magic that they possess is the Killing Power, which is controlled by the siphons. Additionally, Rhysand tells Feyre that he couldn't wear the siphons because he kept breaking them, because 'his magic' worked in a different way. He is, of course, only half Illyrian.

Azriel meanwhile, is interesting because he can use the siphons and in fact has a surplus of Killing Power, like Cassian. But he can also control the shadows, because, as he said himself 'that's what he is. He is a Shadowsinger.' BUT, unlike the rest of the Illyrians, he can also winnow and as Cassian said in ACOSF 'Az is different in many ways'.

Now, back to Vesperus and Azriel again.

She asks HIM to make the Tithe. Not Bryce or Nesta (they are both Fae looking and presumably, Vesperus wouldn't know the difference). But, she does, doesn't she?

Because what has sustained her before? Natural Prythian-specific magic that the Fae of Prythian carried. And the only person out of the 3 in front of her that she senses this magic in is...Azriel. That would mean then that Azriel has NATURAL magic, which supposedly Illyrians don't possess at all. That also implies that HIS magic is so ANCIENT that Vesperus immediately recognizes it. It also implies that his magic is so pure that that's what she needs.

But what it also implies is that his natural magic is SO POWERFUL that only a little bit--a Tithe--is strong enough to actually break through Theia's spells and powers, which had kept Vesperus in that glass coffin all this time. Theia, the first Starborn, the one who could outwit an Asteri and imprison her in a glass coffin, the one who became Queen and ruled from Dusk, and the one who found a Rift into Midgard--her power is matched by...Azriel. Because just a little bit of his would seem to break through all of Theia's.

If that doesn't make Azriel more than just an Illyrian, then I don't know what will.

PS. I also thought about Prythian's Tithe, which supposedly everyone has to some degree. Interestingly, Rhys doesn't. He has simple taxation.

This is a whole different post, BUT--what if all the High Lords are part Starborn but also Asteri. What if their magic is also derived from the land, especially the seasonal Courts, where the High Lord is literally responsible for sustaining the season, and the environment is tied to his powers. What if the Tithe is necessary to maintain his magical powers? Kind of like the Asteri needed it to maintain their powers?

And Rhysand, for whatever reason he is part Valg doesn't pull as much from the land itself. His powers are so immense that he exists outside of what Prythian offers.

But like I said, it's a different post.

Ms. Arceherom sneered at Azriel “ You have no power over me “Prince of Shadows”.

She grabbed Elain by her hair, Elain winced as she feel to her knees.

“Tell them what you did! Tell them who you sacrificed” her mother’s ghost raged

Elain’s lip trembled, squeezing her eyes hut as tears fell down her face, “I’m sorry” she whispered.

“TELL THEM” she screamed.

Elain cried out as her mother tore into her skin. Her left side warm with blood

“Father” Elain choked out. Refusing to meet her sisters gazes. “I saw his death..I had to make a choice” sobs racked through her body “Nesta and Cassian..or him..the cauldron it would only let me choose one of the other”.

“Will you kill me now, like you killed your father”

Elain staggered at her mothers question and that's all she needed to throw elain as if she were nothing more then a rag doll.