Lake Willowmere Wraith

“I should go,” Elain said, but made no move to leave. “Yes,” he said, his thumb sweeping in long strokes along the side of her throat. Her arousal drifted up to him, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the sweet scent. He’d beg on his knees for a chance to taste it. But Azriel just stroked her neck again. Elain shuddered, drifting closer. So close one deep breath would brush her breasts against his chest. She looked up at him, her face so trusting and hopeful and open that he knew she had no idea that he had done unspeakable things that sullied his hands far beyond their scars. Such terrible things that it was a sacrilege for his fingers to touch her skin, tainting her with his presence. But he could have this. This one moment, and maybe a taste, and that would be it. “Yes” Elain breathed, like she read the decision. Just this taste in the dead of the longest night of the year, where only the Mother might witness them.

Versus showing the Elriel evidence

with the valkyries: nesta, gwyn and emerie complete the qualifier and he's like, do you want a prize? go again and try not to fuck it up this time.

with amren: makes jokes at her expense despite him knowing she's a biblical angel and could literally smite him.

with rhys and cassian: treats the snowball fight like a gauntlet. put rocks in his snowballs and pelted them at rhys for forbidding him from elain.

with feyre: essentially taught her how to fly by baby-bird pushing her out the nest.

BUT WITH ELAIN: fucking hobbling over to her, still so injured he cannot fly, and presses his most prized possession into her hands trusting that even with negative battle experience, she'll use it well. helps her with dinner by carrying the dishes. the same guy finds nothing funny practically cries his eyes out at a gag gift she gave him. thinks long and hard about what present she might like for solstice. follows the sound of her laughter.

Elain is very bossy when it comes to flying.

So much so, that Cassian simply refuses to fly her, claiming that he has to fly Nesta, even though he was under direct order from Rhys to be the preferred transporter for Elain.

"I can't!" Cassian groaned in exasperation. "She is driving me crazy! She tells me what to do the entire way. I am too low. I am too high. I am turning too sharply. The draft is too cold. There is too much wind...I can't take it! You fly with her!"

Rhys, scrubbing his face and wincing.

"She really is kind of a pain in the ass, isn't she?"

"She is! She is!" Cassian nodded vigorously.

"I don't like flying with her either," Rhys finally admitted. "I like Elain, believe me," he added quickly, making sure that no one overheard him. "But flying with her...She either complains or she tells me what I am doing wrong. Like I don't know how to fly!" he snorted in indignation.

"Why can't Az fly her?" Cassian asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

Rhys pursed his lips and then gave a non-answer. "I'd rather they be kept apart."

"Hahaha," Cassian laughed, "what, you think Lucien is gonna get jealous?" he snickered at the absurdity of that though. Why would Lucien be jealous?

Rhys gave him an un-amused look and muttered, "Something like that."

"Well, I dunno what to tell you, Rhysie, but I am not flying with her."

And that's how Elain was pawned off to Azriel.

***

Once they were in the air, Elain's arms thrown around Azriel's neck, unnecessarily, he smirked and asked, "So, what did you do to make him change his mind?"

"About what exactly?" she inquired innocently.

"This little arrangement," he swung her in his arms and she hollered in fright.

"You are such a prick! Put me down and I'll fly with Cass!" she demanded.

"Nah, Cass doesn't want to fly with you. You said something to him."

"Nothing other than telling him that his technique leaves much to be desired," she shrugged.

"Oh, I bet he loved hearing that!"

"I guess I'll have to haul you around then, huh?"

"I guess you will."

"Clever girl," he smiled at her as her hair whipped him in the face. He cradled her closer to his chest.

...Elain really was a bossy passenger.

She critiqued his technique as well. She told him when to turn, and that he was going the wrong way. She commanded him to go lower, and told him to fly up. She didn't care for how he banked, and neither did she like how he took off. She was cold one minute, and then next, she complained that she was 'hot and sweaty'.

Problem was, Azriel loved every minute of it. If he could, he'd fly to Midgard with her in his arms.

Forever.

“Once you get to the end of ACOSF, I think you’ll know who the next book is about.”

A lot of people think it’s the scene with Elain holding Nyx as the last moment in the book, and I’m not disagreeing with that. But I actually think it could be this part instead.

I think it’s interesting that Nesta’s portrait is hung between Feyre’s and Elain’s, even though hers was painted last. Wouldn’t hers have been placed last, then? Or, since she’s the oldest sister, why isn’t hers first in the row?

To me, the order feels intentional:

Feyre – Nesta – Elain

Almost like the book order itself

So at the end of ACOSF, the portraits could be hinting at whose book comes next:

Elain’s

Her portrait 🩷💙

Ladies,I have one more variant of our High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand ♥

meanwhile 90% of her posts are just horrifying AI slop with zero “au/noncanon” hashtags

They always need to spell GWYn with GWYdion cause that's all they have, while we have Blodeuwedd and Gwydion.

elain saying she doesn’t want him, keeping distance from him and calling him a traitor… he’s involved in her biggest trauma and sjm even called that bond a mistake of nature.

so it’s really a delusional choice.

The other side interprets Azriel as a massive incel.