Azriels Mating bond clicks with reader from Hybern on the battlefield during the war, only sheās a medic, but bc sheās from Hybern he hates her and thinks sheās awful and cruel but sheās actually the sweetest woman ever š§”š
Thank you so much for this request!! I had fun writing it āŗļø and thank you for the birthday wishes š«¶
Love on the Battlefield
ACOTAR x Reader Masterlist | Bday Masterlist
Azriel x Reader
Warnings: canon-typical violence
Words: 500
18+ only pls
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The din of battle filled his ears, his focus fully on the enemies in front of him. His blades swung through skin and bone with ease, and his shadows immobilized nearby soldiers, allowing his comrades to take them out more swiftly.
Azriel made his way through the ranks, nearing one of the enemy tents. Inside he would find their healers and wounded, ready to be dispatched by his swords. Enemy after enemy fell, leaving a bloody trail of bodies behind him as he reached the tent.
A female was standing in front of the canvas flaps, and his attention faltered for a moment as something tugged in his chest, allowing a blade to slice through the leather of his wings. Pain seared through the appendage and he grit his teeth together. He whirled and slashed the offenderās chest open, watching with satisfaction as he fell to the ground, dead.
A Hybern citizen as his mate. He could hardly believe that was his fate, to be tethered to his enemy. The femaleās emotions poured down the bond, fear and anger and confusion clouding his senses. Azriel leveled a glare at her, stalking towards her angrily.
āYouāre wounded,ā she said, reaching a hand out to brush his wing, missing when he tilted his body away from her. She glared right back at him, reaching for his arm this time. āLet me help.ā
āWhy?ā Azriel growled, nearly jerking his arm out of her hold, but something stopped him. āWhy would you help your enemy?ā
āYouāre not my enemy, not right now. Iām your healer, and you are my patient. Now, let me help.ā The no-nonsense tone she had shocked him enough to allow her fingers to dance over his wing, the sensation nearly causing him to take her then and there, even with the throbbing pain still present. A moment later, there was an itching feeling as his skin knit back together, and then it was gone. āVery good,ā she said as she moved behind him, examining the flesh where the wound had been. āThere should be no scarring.ā
Azriel turned to look at her, still confused by her actions. āThank you,ā he said softly, barely heard over the noise of the battle still raging. He couldnāt tell if the bond had snapped for her as well, and her face gave nothing away. āI should be going.ā
āJustā¦ Donāt attack the healing tents,ā she requested, a plea in her eyes. āWe may be your enemy, but there is no honor in attacking the injured.ā
For her, the female who had shown kindness to a stranger whoād had every intention of slaughtering her, he would avoid the tents. He nodded, and began walking back to the battlefield, but stopped after a few paces. āWhatās your name?ā
She hesitated for a moment, then said, āY/N. Yours?ā
āAzriel.ā
āI hope to see you again under different circumstances, Azriel,ā she said as he turned to leave once more.
Oh, how he wished they would too. The bond in his chest was already making it difficult to leave her, and he couldnāt help but wonder about the future that they could have had - that they could still have.
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Love is the most powerful force in the Maasverse, and as such, it is the only force that can change fate. It is also an essential part of creation: love me, touch me, sing me. As @silverlinedeyes, @offtorivendell, @psychologynerd and so many others have suggested, I think we may find out bonds vary because one is actually Made with the force of true love, and the other, where the match is not ideal and they are not in love, is not. Despite what the Fae have been taught to believe (and weāre meant to question those beliefs, otherwise, why pose the question?), love is what makes those bonds sacred. Elainās story is set up well for a reveal about mating bonds, the Faeās beliefs, and what it would look like to change fate through the force of love. In fact, that might be one of the reasons the Archeron sisters represent what the Fae once were and still could be: more elemental, their powers rawer and more connected to nature, and most importantly, able to imbue things with that magic. They are the three faces of the Mother made flesh.
More on this topic:
@silverlinedeyes: two types of mating bonds
@icedflames: threads, spells, & mating bonds
@offtorivendell: bond or spell? ā¢ oily residue ā¢ the Asteriās influence ā¢ light and dark and grey ā¢ corrupted bonds
Bryce Quinlan has a husband that she loves and calls her mate (stop trying to make Azriel a homewrecker when Bryce chose to stay in her world at the end of her arc. Sarah has never written any of her leading ladies as divorcing / losing their husband to death).
Elain Archeron already has a mate, quit trying to force another bond on her (it's one thing to like the idea of e/riel but stop trying to force a mating bond on Elain and Az - especially when the big argument by shippers is how she doesn't want a mate. She has given zero indication she wants a mating bond with Az, she's also given zero indication she'd ever want to date / marry him. The only person she ever agreed to marry is Graysen and we all know hooking up in Sarah's world does not automatically translate to a serious relationship. See Dorian / Aelin. See Cassian / Mor. See Nesta and random men. See Bryce and random guy).
Gwyn Berdera is the only female Azriel was ever written to feel a spark for. Gwyn Berdera is the only female who Az's shadows ever seemed curious about, regardless of it being her breath / power. Those things still belong to Gwyn and make her who she is just like Nesta's powers of Death are still tied up into who she is. (stop pretending like this couldn't be possible foreshadowing for Az and the shadows having a mating bond with Gwyn and her breath because Azriel in canon has not yet met his mate therefore everyone who is not Bryce, Feyre, Nesta, Elain, and Vivianne could be revealed to be his mate including Gwyn).
(A mating bond is the pinnacle of what Sarah can give these characters yet some are really out there trying to give Az sloppy seconds instead of his own beautiful bond)
There's such a profound difference between how Az treats Gwyn and Elain when confronted with danger.
During ACOSF, when Elain is adamant that she can do the scrying, Azriel goes behind her back to discount her abilities to the rest of the IC and discourage them from allowing Elain to do the scrying on account of "protecting" her. He didn't allow her to prove that she was strong enough to do this. He completely disregards what Elain wants and what she says she's capable of as soon as she leaves the room.
Whereas with Gwyn, Az was confident she could cut the ribbon. And he was confident that she would complete the Blood Rite Qualifier, so much so that he and Cass invited the Illyrians to watch. Furthermore, when Gwyn was abducted and dropped into the Blood Rite, he still believes in her. He's worried, yes, but he's also confident in Gwyn's abilities.
Azriel profoundly underestimates Elain's abilities. He disregards that she wants to have a greater role in the Night Court, specifically a role where she could help protect it. He shields her to the point that it is stifling. In contrast, with Gwyn, he encourages her to get stronger, to do better, and he doesn't doubt that she can.
Mates are meant to be equals. Azriel already doesn't perceive Elain as an equal (at least in ability). And he cuts off her attempt at maybe showing she could be an equal. However, at the end of the Blood Rite, Gwyn becomes a Carynthian. A title which we know very few have ever attained, Azriel being one of them, out of the thousands of Illyrian warriors who participate in the Blood Rite--which puts her on even more equal footing with Azriel. She didn't just survive the Blood Rite, she won the damn thing.
I think this is a clear sign that Azriel and Elain are just not compatible with each other like Az and Gwyn are. I don't understand why anyone would want the relationship where one stifles the other person's progress over one where they encourage one another to improve.
All in all, it's really the difference of treating someone with a "she's not strong enough to handle this, I need to protect her" mindset as opposed to "she's strong, she doesn't need me to protect her" mindset. I know which one I'd prefer.
I honestly get the vibe of someone keeping a butterfly in a jar when I read the interactions Az has with Elain during ACOSF.
I donāt think itās Azriel alone that can smell Elain and Lucien's bond. From evidence gathered all through the books, everyone can smell mating bonds. But the thing is, weāre inside Azrielās head, thatās the PoV we get. Itās not that anyone else canāt smell it, itās that weāre just getting Azrielās POV and from it, we know it bothers him. Iād say this speaks mostly of how strong Elucien's bond actually is, but I digress. We know Amren was able to smell Feysand' bond, we know Rhys was worried that Feyre's mating bond scent could get her in trouble when she returned to Spring, we know Lanthys could smell NessianĀ“s bond. We know Ruhn could smell Bryce and Huntās bond...bonds can be smelled by anyone.
On another note, about Azriel not smelling his own potential mating bond with Gwyn, even though itās right under his nose (pun intended): there's evidence in the books that this could happen as well. How was Bryce unable to smell or recognize her own mating bond with Hunt, that Ruhn had to be the one to tell her about it and confirm it?
āYou smell differentā.... "Ruhn's brows twitched toward each other, and he scratched at the buzzed side of his head. "I can't explain it."
"It means that heās going ballistic in the way that only mates can when the other is threatened. Itās what happened then, and whatās happening now. Youāre true matesāthe way Fae are mates, in your bodies and souls. Thatās what was different about your scent the other day. Your scents have merged. As theyndo between Fae mates."
Also tell me, if everyone can tell who their mate is right away by smell alone, why are people wondering if their loved one is actually their mate when they could just smell it? Lucien wouldnāt have wondered if Jesminda was his mate if he could just smell it. Azriel wouldnĀ“t have wondered 500 years about Mor being his mate if he could tell right away. Kallias and Vivienne wouldnāt need the bond to snap to actually know because they could smell it instead of wonder about it their whole lives.
Itās CANON that a mating bond can be hard to detect until it snaps. So it is perfectly possible for Azriel to go about life being clueless about a mating bond and not know the smell of it when it hasn't snapped.
āAnd what about Cassian? Heās entangledāand enabling this nonsense.āA wry smile. āCassian is going to have to decide some things, too. In the near future, I think.āāAre he and Nesta ā¦?āāI donāt know. Until the bond snaps into place, it can be hard to detect.ā
Rhys also suspected about his mating bond with Feyre, but he didnāt know for sure. If the smell was there from the start, he wouldāve been sure. But the smell wasnāt hightened until she was Made and thatās when he knew for sure.
āI suspected for a while,ā Rhys said, swallowing once more. āI knew for certain when Amarantha was killing you. And when we stood on the balcony Under the Mountaināright after we were freed, I felt it snap into place between us. I think when you were Made, it ā¦ it heightened the smell of the bond. I looked at you then and the strength of it hit me like a blowā.
So the irony of the Spymaster of the Night Court, whoās supposed to know every secret, being clueless about his own mating bond makes for a really compelling story. Azriel longing for so long for a bond like the one his brothers have, being none the wiser about his own mate being right there, will be the funniest thing. The idea that his bond would smack him in the face after unfolding through friendship, feels perfectly suited to him. I canāt wait.
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Every couple so far has built upon the lore of the mating bond, with each pair answering one of the five Ws and one H while expanding on what came before.
Rowan and Aelin introduced the mating bond into the series and established its importance.
Who: Feysand
Feyre and Rhysand answered the question of who are mates. ACOMAF focused on the contrast between the two males Feyre had loved, with Feyre processing why Tamlin was not the right match for her and what Rhys had that Tamlin lacked.
When: Nessian
Nesta and Cassianās story explored when the bond snaps. Both Nesta and Elain were Made, yet only Elainās bond snapped immediately. Nessianās bond did not snap until two years later after a pivotal confrontation between Nesta and Cassian during Solstice about her reasons for accepting Erisās engagement. This brings the question of whether the bond snaps at a crossroads moment for the female, when she recognizes who she could be but also acknowledges that she is not yet ready.
Where: Quinlar
Bryce and Huntās story demonstrated that the mating bond transcends worlds. One of the major plotpoints of HOFAS was that Bryce was able to return to Midgard was because Hunt was her home. HOFAS also featured three mated couples (four if you count the damn weapons) who, despite being across different worlds, still found their way back to each other.
Why: Elucien
Elain and Lucienās story will answer why the bond exists. SJM has already planted this question in the text: Feyre explicitly wondered why Lucien and Elain were mated, and Azriel echoed the question in the bonus chapter. Their personalities, interests, backgrounds, and reactions align, yet their bond remains unexplored and unresolved longer than any other. Both Elain and Lucien are at a crossroads, having exhausted what they can do alone, and their story will reveal what they can achieve together. It will also restore the balance of the mating bond, shifting it away from the power imbalance it currently has. Unlike the other male mates, Lucien has not pushed Elain for a decision, which may be key to redefining the bondās role.
The mating bond is also a huge part of their story, considering both Elain and Lucien were as content as they could be before their bond snapped. Yet once it did, they each started pushing themselves to become more. Their journey has been about stepping beyond where they were and figuring out how they can better the world. It also helps that Lucien, being fully fae, has a deeper connection to and understanding of the mating bond compared to the other couples, who are either half fae or not fae at all. Elain, described as different from her sisters, is also unique in that she was the only female who knew about her mating bond much earlier and understood how her feelings for Lucien tied in with the mating bond and what came with it.
It is no secret that the mating bond is at the center of their conflict, which means their resolution will inevitably be tied to understanding why the mating bond exists in the first place.
How: Gwynriel
Gwyn and Azrielās story will reveal how the bond snaps though this time through a maleās perspective. In every previous case, the bond has snapped from the femaleās point of view. Even when Cassianās bond with Nesta snapped, we saw it happen through Nestaās eyes. Lucien, Rowan, Hunt, and Rhys all had their bonds snap outside of their POVs. Azriel, having waited 500 years for a mate, is the perfect character to show the experience from the maleās side.
A rejected bond does not fit into the grand scheme of SJMās worldbuilding, especially given how the mating bond is tied to fate with severe consequences for those who do not follow it. Rejections leave a lasting impact: both mates feel the otherās death profoundly, and it follows them for the rest of their lives. This makes it unlikely that SJM will use bond rejection as a central theme, especially with how she has framed the consequences of ignoring fate.
All in all, Elucien and Gwynriel both have the best potential to strengthen her lore of the mating bond, adding more to what we have previously known from her other couples, especially since the main couples in her series are already mates.
āItās an ā¦ important moment when a female offers her mate food. It goes back to whatever beasts we were a long, long time ago. But it still matters. The first time matters. Some mated pairs will make an occasion of it āthrowing a party just so the female can formally offer her mate food ā¦ Thatās usually done amongst the wealthy. But it means that the female ā¦ accepts the bond.ā
- ACOFAS/chap 12:
But Azriel only took Elainās heavy dish of potatoes from her hands, his voice soft as night as he said, āSit. Iāll take care of it.ā Elainās hands remained in midair, as if the ghost of the dish remained between them. With a blink, she lowered them, and noticed her apron. āIāIāll be right back,ā she murmured, and hurried down the hall...
- ACOFAS/chap 18:
My sister rose to her feet. āI should get refreshments.ā
Lucien rose as well. āNo need to trouble yourself. Iāmāā
But she was already out of the room... I found my sister in the kitchen, watching the kettle scream. āHeās not staying for tea,ā I said.
What I find interesting is that Feyre, in ACOMAF, was about to serve Rhys that canned soup without having an idea about the significance of this action, if Rhys didn't tell her about it--especially that we never got a similar scene where Feyre offers him food or anything, not until she discovered that he is her mate. So it would still mean that she accepts the bond, even unknowingly.
Also, is that why Mor tensed beside Feyre in ACOFAS earlier in this scene? Because I'm sure she and Amren know that something is going on between Elain and Azriel.
And how SJM wrote a full page about the dish of potatoes being exchanged between them, and made it clear a few chapters later that Lucien never waited to get the cup of tea made, also by his mate.
