What if Elain and Azriel are mates?
I know it sounds crazy, but bare with me.
In the Throne of Glass series, Rowan was convinced from the moment he first laid eyes on Lyria that she was his mate. He believed that for centuries and every day since, even after falling in love with Aelin.
However, in the end, it was all a trick orchestrated by Maeve to turn him into her servant. What if that’s what went on with Lucien, Elain and The King of Hybern.
What if the King of Hybern (who we all know is NOT an idiot) saw how faltering Lucien’s loyalty to Tamlin was becoming and how dangerous that could be to him during the war, but couldn’t risk killing Lucien and ruining the alliance with Tamlin and The Spring Court. So, as a way to ensure Lucien’s loyalty, he tricked him into believing that Elain was his mate, because he never expected her to get away with the rest of The Court of Dreams at the end of ACOMAF. He expected to have Elain locked away at his side (as she temporarily is in ACOWAR) with Lucien right there, ready to do anything for The King as long as he didn’t harm her.
The King of Hybern had The Cauldron. He broke an unbreakable bond, turned humans into high fae, destroyed the entire wall in the blink of an eye and he almost cleaved the world apart with it. Creating an elaborate illusion is certainly not beyond him.
It would also explain why Lucien, despite always being concerned with Elian’s safety, wasn’t hesitant about leaving her at The Night Court when he left for The Continent. In fact, when he returned, he didn’t even ask about her or try and find her in the middle of a deadly battle where she could be in serious harm. In fact, Elain shows little to no interest in him at all. She is simply indifferent to him.
If Lucien was not Elain’s mate but Azriel was, it would also explain why Azriel was so quick to take a liking to her. He was supposedly in love with Mor for five hundred years, but if both Elain and Mor were in the same room, his attention would always be directed towards Elain. Even Mor noticed it and pointed it out herself.
Elain trusted Azriel enough to not fear him, even though she knew exactly what and who he was, and exactly how dangerous he could be. She was never scared of him. Oh, and here’s the real kicker, Azriel gave her Turthteller. Remember, that weapon that he has never so much as let anyone touch, not even his high lord, not even his brothers or the woman he supposedly loves? He handed it over to her despite barely knowing her.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I find Azriel and Elain as a couple makes more sense to me then Elain and Lucien together, and perhaps I think Azriel and Elain have much better chemistry. However, there were way too many hints and clues pointing towards Elriel, and we all know SJMaas does not just do that for no reason. They could be each other’s temporary romantic interest, but they’ve both had they’re hearts broken by the person they believed they were meant to be with.
So maybe this isn’t a crazy theory, and maybe they are mates. We’ll just have to wait and see.
