#oop oop

What stands out in Elain's section of his chapter is the heightened sexual tension in the text.

He mentioned nothing about searching for the necklace for Elain, pondering whether he should give it to her, or any feelings of longing—a characteristic often highlighted in SJM's depiction of mates.

Consider Lucien's absence from the Solstice celebration the previous year.

Where is the yearning that he couldn't spend time with her as he did the previous year? The bitterness of being reminded that she can never be fully his? The fact that this female who finally helped him move on from Mor after 500 years is has been mated to someone else? Or that he's closely associating with his brothers, as though he's already part of his family? There's nothing about how hard he tried to select the perfect gift for her, the worry about whether she'd like it, or the pride that his present might outshine her mate's.

All we get is his aversion to their bond, his desire to pleasure her, and his feeling of unworthiness to touch her.

Of particular note is his vivid imagination of Elain's reaction as he enters her.

Was Rhys wrong to suggest finding a pleasure house when Azriel's thoughts about Elain were consistently sexual?

When given an opportunity to explain himself to Rhysand, regardless of Rhys's apparent disinterest, what did Azriel offer?

He expressed his unfiltered thoughts about how he felt regarding Elain.

"Why wasn't the third sister given to me? What if the Cauldron is wrong?"

Azriel didn't even bother to use her name, which makes it all the more significant. After all, his two brothers found mates in the two sisters, so why wasn't the third sister given to him, the third brother?

Yet, there was no mention of her progress, his feelings when he's with her, or their compatibility.

While Azriel is entitled to question the Cauldron, in that sentence alone, he undermines his brothers' bonds due to his own doubt.

In contrast, Feyre's stance has evolved. She no longer advocates for Azriel and Elain. Instead, she encourages Elain to give her bond with Lucien a chance and asks Lucien to be patient with Elain. This implies that her question to Rhys has been answered—Lucien and Elain are well-matched, even after observing Azriel and Elain interact during Solstice.

Lucien was willing to risk his life to protect Feyre from Rhysand on two occasions. He argued with Feyre to take him to his mate.

Why couldn't Azriel argue with Rhys about why Elain should have been his mate when he had opposed and defied Rhys on other issues?

The most telling aspect is that Azriel couldn't provide an answer when Rhys asked, "what of Mor?"

Mor was Rhys's reasoning for why he didn't think Elain and Azriel would work, as Rhys believed that Azriel had been waiting for their bond to snap. Mor even mentioned that Azriel had had lovers while he pined for her.

Azriel allowed his cold rage to surface, a rage he only ever revealed to Rhysand, knowing that his brother could match it, but he couldn't respond to any of Rhys's questions.

Lucien didn’t back down from Rhys, Cassian and Azriel until Rhys explained to Lucien that all of this was Feyre’s choice.

Now, moving on to Gwyn.

It's regrettable that we can't compare how he converses with Elain to how he interacts with Gwyn. I'll be fair and assume their brief answers stem from their awareness that they're about to engage in something they perceive as wrong.

So, let's emphasize that he never thought he was tarnishing Gwyn's body with hands that had committed unspeakable deeds when he was teaching her. Both acknowledged what he had done to save her, without shame. They understood and then continued their conversation, with Azriel adding more words after his initial one-word response.

Furthermore, he's the one who keeps attempting to engage Gwyn in conversation, even when she mentions that she's trying to cut the ribbon. He lied to Gwyn about his reason for being there, but he couldn't deceive Elain about why he needed to leave?

Elain made him laugh once. How many times did Gwyn make him laugh during their brief interaction?

He felt inadequate around Elain, but he's at ease with Gwyn. He respects Gwyn and truly sees her for who she aspires to be, just as Gwyn sees him for his true self—the side he tries to conceal. She thanks him for it.

And here's the kicker: while he imagined how Elain's face might look when he enters her, he thought about how Gwyn's teal eyes might light up upon receiving the necklace.

His arousal was evident when Elain wore the necklace, but he felt a spark in his chest when he imagined Gwyn receiving it.

He described the necklace as a thing of secret, lovely beauty, and that's how his bonus chapter concluded as he walked away, envisioning how Gwyn would react when she received it.

I will acknowledge that several Elriel moments did occur, but they were not further explored in ACOSF. Azriel made it clear that he believed staying away from Elain was the right choice, and this decision happened without a proper conversation between them to explain why.

Azriel himself asserted his decision on what Elain should do with her feelings toward him.

Notably, Elain returned the necklace Azriel had given her, and he subsequently gifted it to someone else, signifying a shift in their connection. Elain accepted Azriel's declaration that their connection was a mistake.

Although there were moments where Azriel and Elain were in the same room after solstice, their interactions didn't lead to significant developments. It's important to consider that character dynamics can evolve unpredictably in a story.