Every single theory leads back to Elain and Azriel. every. damn. one.
First offāletās get the obvious outta the way. Elain is 1000% the next main female character.
SJM literally said she did research and studied for this book. and sheās an Archeron. itās her turn. period.
And thereās SO MUCH pointing to it:
⢠in the feysand bonus chapter from ACOSF, Rhys straight up says: āfirst one sister (Nesta), then the other.ā
⢠Elain is heavily implied to be readyāor soon-to-beāto train and tap into her powers.
⢠and now with HOFAS? her powers line up perfectly. especially when you look at her next to Azriel.
Letās talk about the Dusk Court.
Elainās into gardening, right? and people LOVE to clown her for it, like itās some silly little thing. But HELLO, every SJM heroine has a āthing.ā and this? This will matter.
when we talk about Elain, itās not just āseer.ā itās powersāplural.
The Cauldron literally loved her enough to give her life, just like it gave Nesta death.
Nesta = death.
Elain = life.
Now imagine Elain, full of this life-giving power, awakening the Eighth Courtāthe Dusk Court.
And Azriel? the shadowy, mysterious male whoās never fully fit anywhere? what if heās the heir to that court?
plot twist: the two of them arenāt just compatibleātheyāre meant to restore a piece of Prythianās forgotten history.
And the Cauldron?
in that bonus chapter (you know the oneāAzriel, Elain, Gwyn), Az drops a bomb:
āThe 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.ā
like??? what if the Cauldron got it wrong??
"What if the Cauldron was wrong?"
And now HOFAS is like: āyeah btw the Cauldron is controlled by the Daglan and was trying to breed stronger offspring so...ā
We're talking about this since ACOWAR.
Az feels the bond between Elain and Lucien. and not in a ācute jealousyā way. Like he literally feels sick.
and Amren was the only other one who could feel mating bonds in ACOMAF.
but Az doesnāt feel all bondsāhe didnāt feel Feysandās. just Elucienās.
What if thatās because⦠there are two mating bonds?
⢠The Cauldronās: Elain + Lucien.
⢠The Motherās: the real deal. soul-deep. chosen. Elriel.
But what about Lucien???
yeah letās go there.
this bond with Elain? itās been hanging around since ACOWAR.
but like⦠nothingās happening. no romantic scenes. no tension. no anything.
Elain actively avoids him. She loses her voice around him. She wants nothing to do with him.
And Lucien? Heās literally living with another woman. Also heās linked to Vassa. And Vassaās under a spell. and Lucienās the son of the guy who breaks spells.
Yeah. thatās a plot. Thatās its own arc. Not Elainās.
And no. Elain canāt ājust say noā and move on.
If she rejects Lucien, the political fallout would be HUGE.
Beronās ready to go full villain. heāll use this to start a war. Blood Duel. Chaos. Alliances crumbling. Itās not that simple.
Now letās zoom out.
Sarah J. Maas basically invented the mating bond trend in romantasy.
Everyoneās copying it.
Feysand walked so a million other romantasy couples could run.
But what if Elainās book breaks the trope?
What if she is the one who says:
āI donāt want this bond.ā
āI donāt want the male that the Cauldron, fate picked for me.ā
āI want to choose for myself.ā
Imagine a story where a girl rejects the magical destined bond.
And not because itās broken or abusiveābut just because she doesnāt want it.
Iconic.
SJMās stories are all about choice.
Feyre and Rhys? They chose each other before the bond.
Nesta and Cassian? Same.
Bryce and Hunt? Same.
Aelin and Rowan? Same.
Feyre didn't even knew about the mating bond, and Rhysand didn't want to tell her, leaving her the possibility to choose.
CHOICE. Not fate. Not obligation. Not āyouāre mine because magic said so.ā
Love thatās freely chosen.
So why should Elain be forced to accept a bond she doesnāt want?
Lucien doesnāt even seem to want it either. like⦠heās vibing with someone else entirely.
And in todayās world?
this story would hit hard.
A female lead saying:
āI donāt owe him anything.ā
āI donāt have to give him a chance.ā
āI get to choose who I love.ā
YES.
We Elriel fans donāt want another ACOSF.
We want something like ACOMAF. Like TOG.
Not just smut and vibesābut a story with depth. A slow-burn, emotional, soul-healing, plot-driving masterpiece.
With a heroine who grows, heals, and shines.
Elain has so much potential.
Sheās not a warrior like Nesta or Aelin or Manon. But sheās powerful in her softness. Gentle.
She deserves a book that shows the strength in that.
And weāre ready for it.















