#I see Azriel more connected to the Illyrian and multi verse plot line

[the-darkestminds]

“Elain actually wants Azriel! They already have strong feelings for each other!”

Okay. So now what? Their book starts with them already on the verge of falling in love (ridiculous lol) and to deal with this they do…what? If Feyre learned that they love each other, she would never be okay with Rhys forbidding them from being together. It would take a single conversation between Feyre and Rhys to clear this up. And sjm has repeatedly let us know that Lucien is more courtier than warrior. There would be no blood duel. Also, as Rhys said, it’s illegal in his lands, and Elriels are adamant that Elain WILL NOT leave the Night Court, so they’d be protected by that law.

But say Azriel ignores Rhys’s order, and Lucien invokes the blood duel and Rhys allows it to happen. We are told Azriel would destroy Lucien with “little effort.” So now Lucien’s dead…and apparently Elain is fine with this. Does Beron declare war on the Night Court? And is Eris no longer their ally, even though we’ve yet to see them truly working together? Beron is already an enemy, so we don’t need that extra reason for him to fight against the NC. Vassa and Jurian would turn on the IC but they have no forces to command right now, so not sure what they could really do about it. Does the Spring Court remain desolate indefinitely because there’s no one left to care about it? I’m genuinely trying to wrap my head around how this could play out but I’m struggling to see it.

Say they do decide to sneak around for a bit until Elain and Lucien “mutually” reject the bond. What happens then? The scene with Cassian and Eris at the very end of ACOSF told us what to expect for the next book:

“Koschei remains in play, and Beron might very well be stupid enough to establish an alliance with him, too.”

Beron and Koschei. How does Elriel play into that? Elain has visions of Koschei, so she could fit into this plot line. But is Azriel more connected to Beron and Koschei than Lucien? Lucien has a connection to Vassa, who is enslaved by Koschei’s curse. And all of Prythian still believes Beron to be Lucien’s father. Plus, there’s Eris’s plot to overthrow Beron. We learned that Lucien and Eris are on speaking terms again. Sjm has left several hints that Eris cares for Lucien and has secretly protected him. So there’s potential for a reconciliation between them. But I fail to see how Azriel fits into this story in an interesting way, aside from being useful in a fight. Will Elain and Azriel take on Koschei and Beron while Lucien happily assists them?

Say they’ve defeated Koschei and Beron, Elain and Azriel are happy, Lucien is still tied to Elain but ultimately they are fine to go their separate ways. What’s the next book about? Vassa and Lucien falling in love? She’d be free from her curse by then, and we know she desperately wants to return to her people. Or maybe this happens in the “Elriel book” as well. So if Azriel and Elain’s story is concluded, AND Lucien’s story is tied up, what’s next? A full length novel about Emerie and Mor?

I’m just not seeing it. Are you?