holly 💖🎶💖

For me, Azriel’s ACOSF bonus chapter continues to be the gift that keeps on giving--a treasure trove of intentionality, juxtapositions, symbolism, and character details to lay the groundwork for Azriel and Gwyn’s story in the next ACOTAR novel.  Although I’ve written quite a bit about this chapter already, there’s another connection I keep coming back to that I want to explore.

In this bonus chapter, SJM crafts a clear and deliberate contrast between emotional coldness and the tentative thaw of connection as it pertains to Azriel (and ultimately his interaction with Gwyn).

The motif of coldness--both literal and metaphorical--is used in the bonus chapter to mirror Azriel’s emotional state.  When he unexpectedly encounters Gwyn training on the roof of the House of Wind after his argument with Rhys, what seems at first to be an incidental exchange takes on a much more intentional and symbolic significance.

At the heart of this interaction between Azriel and Gwyn is one line of dialogue, very easily overlooked:

”Once you get moving, you stop noticing it.”

Gwyn says this matter-of-fact response when Azriel asks if she’s cold--complete with an irreverent shoulder shrug to go along with it.  But, within the framework of the scene (and also when considered against the broader characterization of Azriel across multiple books), Gwyn’s statement carries immense symbolic weight instead of just being an offhanded comment.

In fact, I argue that this one line from Gwyn is so crucial that it offers an essential glimpse into the thematic arc that will shape Azriel’s journey in the next ACOTAR book.  In many ways, it is the thesis of his emotional healing arc--which he will go on with Gwyn as she heals and grows along with him.  

Gwyn’s simple response to Azriel about the cold speaks not just to the weather conditions on a winter’s night, but it gestures to a deeper truth to support the foundation for Azriel’s story: movement combats numbness.  And that, in a nutshell, is what Azriel has yet to learn--but SJM is teasing the readers with that knowledge in this bonus chapter.  

Azriel vs. Coldness

From the very first moment we meet Azriel in the ACOTAR series, he is framed through imagery of coldness, frost, ice, and cool detachment.  Before Feyre even sees his face in ACOMAF, she hears his voice while he and Cassian are locked out of the townhouse:

That voice—like shadows given form, dark and smooth and … cold.

And once Feyre actually meets Azriel in person at the House of Wind, these comparisons continue as she shakes his hand:

I took Azriel’s hand, and his rough fingers squeezed mine. His skin was as cold as his face.

This imagery is not just descriptive writing or purely for aesthetics.  It’s narrative intent.  In addition, it continues throughout the series from this point forward–including the moments when Azriel is present in the Crescent City series.

A few examples (of many):

Az didn’t answer.  I held his gaze, though.  Held that ice-cold stare that still sometimes scared the shit out of me. – Rhysand’s POV in ACOFAS

Azriel was the portrait of cool boredom. – Cassian’s POV in ACOSF

Azriel watched her with that cool quiet, keeping utterly still. – Nesta’s POV in ACOSF

A cool male voice spoke above her. – Bryce’s POV in HOSAB

Azriel–the male who Bryce had travelled with in the caves.  He was now motioning them forward, his face like ice. – Ember’s POV in HOFAS Bonus Chapter

"I know a number of males back home who could only dream of delivering that sentence with such cool.”  – Bryce to Azriel in HOFAS Bonus Chapter

Even Truth-Teller, often seen as an extension of Azriel, is described in the same manner repeatedly in both the ACOTAR and CC series:

Az crossed his arms, face as elegant and cold as the legendary dagger at his side. – Rhysand’s POV in ACOFAS

Something icy and sharp pressed against her throat. – Bryce’s POV in HOSAB (Truth-Teller)

Again, this isn’t just coincidence.  This is deliberate character construction.  And the scope and recency of this deliberate character construction is worth noting. Not only do these references occur repeatedly from ACOMAF onward, but there is deliberate usage of this imagery in SJM’s most recent novels--even outside of ACOTAR. Azriel’s connections to cold imagery and language is being reinforced and strengthened in CC novels, as well--almost like there is a plan behind ensuring that readers understand this connection and how intrinsically it’s tied to Azriel.  

Essentially, SJM is trying to show readers that coldness is Azriel’s armor, and it’s the outer shell he’s built over centuries of trauma, rejection, shame, and duty.  It’s arguably how he hides the fact that he feels too much.  

And in his ACOSF bonus chapter, that motif reaches a bit of a tipping point.  

Azriel’s Stark Low-Point: Coldness Everywhere

Azriel’s self-loathing, jealousy, selfishness, and resentment are all on display in the first part of his bonus chapter.  I always want to push back when readers’ only reaction to this chapter is that Azriel gave them “the ick” because of his behavior--because that misses the point.  You’re supposed to see him at that low point and with all his negative feelings that come to the surface.  You’re supposed to see him argue with Rhys.  You’re supposed to see him struggle with the mistake he almost made.  And then it all juxtaposes with the second half of the chapter (it’s just so brilliantly constructed, truly).  

But we absolutely cannot dismiss the first scenes with Elain and Rhys, because they are crucial in understanding the purpose of his scenes with Gwyn and Clotho.  

When Azriel meets with Rhys, that moment isn’t just a scolding for Azriel--it’s a mirror being held up to him.  He’s not thinking clearly.  Although the argument is about Elain, I contend that it really isn’t about Elain (if that makes sense).  I think it’s more about Azriel’s spiraling emotional state as he feels rejected and undeserving of love, which are beliefs born out of centuries of trauma and shame.  

We even get more references to coldness in this moment as well:

Azriel stiffened.  Let his cold rage rise to the surface, the rage he only ever let Rhysand see.

Then, following the fight, Azriel flees into the night:

Azriel stalked through the house and onto the front lawn to sit in the frigid starlight.  To let the frost in his veins match the air around him.  Until he felt nothing.  Was again nothing at all.

In this moment, we see that this really isn’t about Azriel just being upset with Rhys and their argument.  This is emotional collapse.  It’s dissociation.  The cold here is no longer just an environmental detail.  It’s a metaphor for Azriel’s emotional state and ability to cope.  

Azriel uses coldness to numb himself and to silence the voices which tell him that he is unworthy and undeserving of what his brothers have.  After all, he’s likely been doing it for 500 years.  Azriel has taught himself how to shut down.  To become ice.  To feel nothing.  

But here is where things get interesting, once he returns to the House of Wind where Gwyn is waiting on the roof.

Gwyn and That One Line

Azriel wasn’t expecting anyone to be on the roof and couldn’t course-correct to leave once he realized Gwyn was training . . . because his shadows didn’t warn him.  This right there is our first neon sign that something different is going on here.

Gwyn clearly didn’t expect anyone either and apologizes to explain her presence.  Their exchange starts a bit awkwardly.  Azriel lies and says he just came to retrieve something:

The lie was smooth and cool, as he knew his face was.

He is still cold in this moment.  Still closed off.  

But Gwyn is entirely unbothered by this with her smiles and sword swinging.  She also doesn’t tiptoe around Azriel like many people tend to do.  And when Azriel asks:

"Aren’t you cold?” His breath clouded in front of him.

She shrugs with an air of irreverence and says:

"Once you get moving, you stop noticing.”

This is such a great line because it’s a throwaway line on the surface.  It’s practical.  Of course, she’s training and moving her body--so there is truth to what Gwyn is saying.  We universally know this to be true as readers who have likely experienced being in cold temperatures at some point in our lives.

But in the context of Azriel’s emotional state, and given the thematic undercurrents of the chapter, this line functions as something else entirely.  There is so much more happening here.  The line serves as an unintentional challenge to Azriel’s emotional state.

While Azriel seeks numbness by stilling himself and becoming cold, Gwyn confronts discomfort by doing the exact opposite--by moving through it.  She doesn’t deny the cold.  She moves with it until it no longer defines her.

I guess I would argue that this is not only the philosophical opposite of Azriel’s current worldview . . . but I would claim that SJM is foreshadowing the emotional movement Azriel will have to embrace during his journey in the next ACOTAR book.

The Shadowsinger is Warming Up

By the end of Azriel’s scene with Gwyn, he is calmer.  Lighter.  He corrects Gwyn’s form and they even joke.  Although it’s not “the spark” yet (that’s to come the next day after his interaction with Clotho), we can already see that something restorative is happening. Something in Azriel is subtly warming.   

Before he leaves Gwyn for the night, he says:

"Don’t stay out too much longer.  You’ll freeze.”

And then:

He entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him.  Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer.

This moment matters and is the moment that I keep coming back to (and which ultimately convinced me to write this post).  Here, in this moment, the stairwell isn’t just physically warmer.  The entire emotional register has changed.  The cold that dominated the earlier scene after his interactions with Elain and Rhys has now given way to warmth and music.  

How much has Azriel denied himself of these things?  We’ve seen repeatedly in canon that Azriel is often in a state of coldness based on other characters’ POVs.  We also don’t have any evidence that the Shadowsinger actively sings or enjoys music--despite opening up to Gwyn in this bonus chapter by telling her that, yes, he does indeed sing.  If he does, then why are we just now hearing about it?  How often does he do it?  For music to be associated in this moment with warmth and his feeling of calmness, it must be a positive thing for him--and clear foreshadowing that we will definitely see him sing in the next book.

But, even more notably, his shadows respond, too.  They are an extension of Azriel and, as canon confirms, they are his constant companions.  The fact they react to Gwyn--after this period of movement and “warming up”--is a powerful hint that something is awakening in him after this interaction.

In this short interaction with Gwyn, we’ve gone from: Ice → Thaw.  Silence → Song.

What Does It Mean?  Movement as Metaphor.

"Once you get moving, you stop noticing it.”

This, in many ways, is the emotional thesis of Azriel’s arc in his upcoming book.  Movement counters stillness.  Genuine connection counters numbness.  

If Azriel has been spending hundreds of years “freezing himself” to feel nothing (by retreating into silence, duty, shadows, his rage, etc.), then Gwyn represents a direct challenge to this.  And she challenges it with her forward movement and momentum, her charming irreverence, how she makes Azriel and his shadows feel calm, how she allows music to break through the surface for Azriel, etc.  

I am so looking forward to getting Gwyn’s POV finally because I would love to learn more about her own emotional journey.  In Azriel’s bonus chapter, he even notes how changed she is from when he first saw her at Sangravah.  She has referenced therapy and has clearly done a lot of work to get to the point where Azriel finds her on Solstice.  I’m sure she has much more work to do on her own journey--but, in this bonus chapter scene, we can see that she is not currently standing still in her pain (aka: the cold).  She keeps moving through it, even when it may be a challenge for her at times.  And, in doing so, the cold doesn’t disappear–it simply stops being the thing that defines her and controls her choices.  

It’s an accidental moment of wisdom on Gwyn’s part.  But, in terms of narrative intent?  It’s everything--especially as we consider Azriel and how the healing journeys for these two characters can merge together as they grow with the support of each other.

And, a bit off-topic but somewhat related . . .  I don’t often write much about Elain–I just don’t have many opinions about her at this point (and am looking forward to how SJM will start laying the groundwork for her arc with Lucien over the course of the next novel and possible novella). But there is an interesting moment with her in ACOFAS in which the notion of coldness is addressed.  When Nesta enters the townhouse for the Solstice celebrations, Elain says to her:

"You’ll fall ill if you just stand there in the cold . . . Come sit with me by the fire.”

I find this fascinating and just as intentional as the moment with Gwyn.  Elain is warning Nesta to not stay still in the cold--in the same way that Gwyn unintentionally shows Azriel the importance of movement to stay warm.  But where Azriel clearly needs that forward momentum to heal and push through years of emotional struggles, Elain indicates that fire is the fix for coldness.  Do I think it’s a subtle nod to Lucien?  Maybe!  ACOFAS is filled with so many wonderful nuggets as its primary goal is bridging the original trilogy with the next wave of novels--so, I don’t think it’s entirely coincidental that Elain is mentioning fire in this moment as a solution to being cold.  

So What?

Basically, this repeated motif of coldness for Azriel (which reaches a tipping point in a moment of warmth and song following an unexpected encounter with Gwyn) is deliberate.  It’s a pivot to indicate the beginning of a new narrative arc–-and that new narrative arc will also intertwine with and include Gwyn.  How exciting?!

And that one simple line?

"Once you get moving, you stop noticing it.”

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒚 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝑬𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏 🌹

I wanted to commission a piece showing Elain and Lucien being separated by circumstances, but still tied together by fate. With Lucien stationed at the Spring Court and Elain still staying at the Night Court, I wanted to leave little Easter eggs for both courts.

@jacqueillustrates absolutely killed it. She created these house insignia’s for each court’s bedsheets. The Night Court got the mountain with the stars, and the Spring Court got the roses and thorns. Then in the middle where they meet is tied together with the mate bond.

Thank you so much @jacqueillustrates for creating this extraordinary art! Of course it turned out even more beautiful than I imagined! I’m completely mesmerized by it 💗💗

Commissioned by myself

Artist is @jacqueillustrates

Dorian Havilliard commission for _mlovesbooks_ on IG! 💙💙💙

Priestess Gwyneth Berdara

It‘s a redraw of the 2023 piece:

So, let's get our Gwynergy on and get ready to celebrate our favourite warrior priestess.

We would like to thank kloartz for all the phenomenal art she made for the event announcement. We wanted someone who loves Gwyn as much as we do and Chloe truly shines ✨️

Music Edits - Thank You @sadiegirl2021 and Mr. K for giving the clip it's soul with the music and the addition of the quote with Gwyn's voice just elevated it to an entirely different place. It screams Gwynergy !!!!

Special effects - @sanzy4 thank you for adding beautiful thematic effects that enhanced the clip further. We are so thankful for your contribution.