saw someone say how SJM mentioned being excited to write a wedding in ACOTAR, and it’s very interesting she said wedding and not mating ceremony, aka it won’t be between mates…
elriel wedding next book let’s GOOOO
🎨 art by iinevvitable, commissioned by @lovelyfawnxx
This beautiful fanart captures the way I've pictured how Elain became the home that Azriel — a tired soldier with a haunting past — will always return to. She is his comfort, peace, and the light that complements his darkness in the most admirable manner.
And set in a romantic wedding aesthetic, Azriel adorns Elain's finger with a beautiful ring that was made of love, and for love and beauty, Elain should wed.
@batboys-art A special thanks for Sarah, for being generous to host a giveaway months ago, which I was lucky enough to win. Working with you can only be defined as enjoyable, professional, and amazing! Thank you so much for all the love that you poured into this piece! 🥰
If only I could show you all the ways you've saved me.
I loved you from the first moment you looked at me with nothing but quiet curiosity in your stunning eyes. You looked at me and saw me. Not a monster, not a spy, not a torturer, not a bastard, not a warrior. You saw straight into my core, Elain, and you never looked away. I loved you then and I love you now, and I will love you every day for the rest of my immortal existence because there is no one but you now.
When you asked me if I could truly fly, I knew I would never find rest again until I took you in my arms and showed you the song of the wind. I saw your eyes light, and I saw you yearn for the wind as I do. I wondered if you, as myself, had no true home in the world but the wind. And a miniscule piece of me, buried so deep down I thought it was lost, wondered if we could be each other’s homes in that brief moment you looked into my eyes.
I thought the fates had damned me to fall in love with someone who was both a mortal and who was promised to another. And then I thought the fates had damned me once more when the Cauldron promised you to another. That infinitesimal speck of hope I had felt when you looked in my eyes withered.
But you showed me, time and time again, how to find hope in the darkness.
And now here we are together after all these years. Somehow you’ve become as much mine as the shadows are. And I yours. I would say I don’t know how it happened, but I do. It was you- all you. Your courage and your strength are what brought us here. As you always have, as you always will, you surprised me. You showed me- you showed us all- that strength does not need to be loud. Strength does not need to be bloody. You showed us that strength can be quiet, and subtle, and delicate, and soft. A strength born from courage, rather than force.
You used your rare, extraordinary strength and courage to show us all that we can define ourselves by our choices, rather than what fate has dealt us. You did something none of us has ever been strong or brave enough to do: you defied the fates when you chose this. When you chose us. And you will always be stronger than me, braver than me, as you speak your truth amongst a world of lies, defying every expectation that has ever been thrust upon you with your delicate, lovely grace.
That delicate, lovely grace, your quiet courage, your soft, unending strength- they have all saved me from the darkness like a lullaby saves a child’s sleep from nightmares. The exquisite way you move through the world is my absolution from a life of violence and hatred.
When I met you, my hands were covered in scars and blood. Now, they are also covered in you. And that has changed everything within me.
Your touch, your truth, your love, your light, have breathed new life into me. I don't think I knew what it was to be alive before you, not really. I have lived a long, long life in the darkness. Far beyond my father’s keep. A life so long and so dark I would have welcomed its end. I would have felt only relief. But now, against all odds, I want to live. Because of you. For you. With you.
You shine your light on everyone so graciously, so generously, without expecting anything in return. Everything you touch becomes infinitely more beautiful, more worthy, more alive. And the fact that I am included in that has saved me- unchained me- in every way possible.
Your presence is like the sun rising over a dewy field of wildflowers at the break of dawn, beckoning me to lay down amongst the blooms and become lost to the world. Promising me that I will be okay, against all odds. Gifting me with hope. Gifting me with a warmth and light that I seldom felt but often craved as a child, that I never thought I would deserve or have. You are what I always needed and could never find or ask for. But here you are.
Your touch is my salvation.
Your gaze is my home.
Your arms are my sanctuary.
Your heart is my afterlife.
There is nothing without you.
So if the stars and the Mother are listening, my love, I want them to hear my promises. To write them into eternity in the spaces between galaxies.
My beautiful, strong, kindhearted Elain,
I will protect you with every fiber of my being, with every last drop of strength I possess. I would shed my own and others’ blood a thousand times over before letting any harm come to you. Though you have shown time and time again that you can protect yourself and the lives of those you love, you have my blade and shield regardless. They are yours until the end of my days.
I will care for you in every way someone can be cared for. Your heart. Your spirit. Your desires. I will make it all possible for you, Elain. Nothing is too small or too large. Ask for it all, my love. I will find a way to give it to you.
I will take you in my arms and fly you to the most beautiful corners of every realm. While no beauty in any reality could compare to you yourself, I will take you to them just to watch your eyes as you look upon them. For you have taught me how to find beauty in every corner. When I offered you my hand all that time ago, and you deemed my scars beautiful, you changed me. And it changes me a little bit more every time I get to see the world through your eyes. So I will fly you to those places, to watch your presence transform them into something impossibly more beautiful. To revel in you, reveling in their beauty.
I will support you in every dream, in every adventure, in every new leaf you turn. There is no version of you I could not love with everything that I am. There is no path you could take that I wouldn't follow you down. Choosing this you means choosing every you, in every world, in every lifetime.
I will sit in the garden and drink tea with you until we are withered and hunched with age. Until new borders have been drawn and new planets named. Until new history books have been written and new legends have been penned.
You have given me something to hold beyond desperate hopes. You have given me something to wield beyond violence. You have planted wildflowers in the darkest spaces of me- the spaces that held my deepest shames, my heaviest fears.
When I felt those flowers breaking through the dark stain within me, letting sun into those cracks for the first time in centuries, I knew. I knew your love and your devotion and your never-fading beauty of heart and mind and body had saved me.
Thank you for loving me. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for saving me. I will spend the rest of my days loving and choosing and- gods help anyone who tries to touch you- saving you in return.
So let it be written in the spaces between galaxies. I will be yours until my body has returned to the earth and I am nothing but ashes feeding the wildflowers. Beyond then. Even when not a soul traveling the realms remembers either of our names, I will be yours. Even when the sun swallows the planet, I will be yours.
The wedding imagery that surrounds Azriel and Elain Archeron; a discussion
Please don't screenshot/share this post without credit.
Disclaimer: as usual, the following is just my thoughts about what I've noticed in the text, and makes no claims of being correct.
In ACOSF, we found out - as an aside that did nothing to further the plot - that jewellery, as a solstice gift, is typically given to someone's wife or mate. In fact, the exact words were 'wives and mates.' Hmm...
Perhaps coincidentally, Cassian tried to calm Nesta at solstice, by telling her that the symphonia he gifted her wasn't a wedding ring.
However, on the same night, his own brother - Azriel - went right ahead and gave Nesta’s sister a piece of jewellery that could be considered a metaphor for both/either of them, in a scene that mimics a proposal (@solar-lilith). It's an interesting contrast, then, that Cassian made very sure to specify that his present to Nesta was only 'a gift, not a fucking wedding ring.' I do understand why Cassian needed to make that distinction at the time - he didn't want to upset Nesta any more than she already was - and I'm sure he'll get her jewellery next solstice, but the clarification stands out, especially when, in comparison, Azriel gave Elain - who is, as far as we currently know (ACOSF), neither his mate, nor his wife - jewellery.
Given the detail SJM put into the description of Elain's necklace, not to mention Elain's own reaction, it doesn't sound generic (to me).
Not only did Elain’s whispered 'It's beautiful' act as a direct call-back to the iconic scene in ACOWAR, where she called Azriel’s hands 'Beautiful' - or his siphons, to be fair; though, as @ofduskcourts said, why would Az blush if he thought she meant his siphons? - when Azriel offered to take her to the sunbathed garden, after carrying her in through the front door of the townhouse, bridal style no less, with her unbound golden hair acting as a stand in for an un-woven (read: unbraided) mating bond...
... But the above passage also ties into the scene a little later on in ACOWAR, below, when Azriel offered to help Elain once more; SJM made sure to note that there was 'no darkness ringing his fingers.' We know that SJM likes her poetic prose, but rings of shadows on fingers is such an odd image to evoke - in my opinion, of course - for a couple that she didn't intend to pair up romantically later on.
Azriel extending his hand, or, in other words, asking for Elain’s hand in marriage, ties right back around to the proposal imagery that I mentioned earlier (or rather, the proposal imagery in Azriel's bonus chapter tied back into this passage from ACOWAR, given it came afterwards).
Additionally, after Elain accepted Azriel's hand in turn, they then walked out together to the townhouse garden - it could be a coincidence, but this passage sounds like it intended to elicit the idea of a couple walking back down the aisle, and out of the door, after their wedding ceremony.
Will Azriel and Elain Archeron end up married and mates? With wedding rings made of darkness? Obsidian, perhaps, to tie into the Court of Nightmares, which is potentially linked to the Dusk Court?
As with everything, until we get the next book, it could be something, or it could be nothing at all, but this sounds a little too much to be coincidental, to me.
PLAYING ON AZRIEL’S SYMPHONIA : “I GET TO LOVE YOU” - RUELLE
PLAYING ON ELAIN’S SYMPHONIA : “STILL INTO YOU” - MEADOWLARK
NOTE: See Day 21: Dreamland if you’d like to see how Azriel saw his wedding to Elain before it happened.
Azriel pulled away, kissing her once and twice more before linking his pinky with hers. “Until the end of forever.”
Elain nodded, sealing it with another kiss. “Until the end of forever.”
“You ready for this?” Rhys asked, smiling from ear to ear as he straightened the collar of Azriel’s jacket.
“Of COURSE he’s ready, look at him! He looks like a fairytale prince!” Cass said, pinching Az’s cheek.
Azriel laughed. “Ready for the wedding? Yes, thanks to Nesta. Ready to spend the rest of my life with Elain? Absolutely.” He said his voice thick with emotion, looking down as tears filled his eyes. "Been waiting 500 years for her."
“Az…dammit…” Cassian said, wiping at his own eyes and hugging his brother, Rhysand hugging them both.
“This never has to leave this room.” Cassian said, sniffling.
Rhysand laughed. “Are you kidding? Crying wasn’t even a question, the bet was on which of us would cry first.” Rhysand said, wiping his own eyes.
Nesta straightened Elain’s sparkling veil with tears in her eyes. “You look so beautiful, El.”
“Oh Nesta, if you start, we all will.” Feyre warned, grabbing a handkerchief and handing it to her sister.
“You really do look beautiful, Elain.” Feyre agree, hugging her sister, and dabbing at her own eyes. “You’re so perfect together, perfect for one another.”
Elain hugged Feyre, beaming and holding her own tears in. “Thank you for helping me find him, for helping me find myself.” She said, taking both her sisters hands.
Nesta sniffled, pulling both of her sisters into her arms, letting her tears fall. The three sisters staying in each others arms until there was a soft knock at the door. “Is it time?” Elain asked.
“No, not yet, calm down.” Feyre laughed as she opened the door to reveal Lucien.
“I’m here to see the Bride if she has a moment.” Lucien said, looking every bit the heir of a High Lord.
Elain nodded. “Of course, come in.”
“We’ll see you again before its time.” Nesta assured Elain as she followed Feyre out.
Lucien walked in and Elain smiled up at him. Their relationship-their friendship had changed so much in such a short time. After avoiding each other for months over their own ill-fated bond, they bonded helping each other find and save the people they were truly meant to be with.
“Day suits you.” She said, smiling. Lucien nodded in appreciation.
“Thank you, Dusk suits you.” He said, adding. “It goes without saying, but, you deserve to be happy with someone of your choosing, Elain. I’m glad you found that happiness.”
“Thank you, Lucien. You deserve the same, and Vassa is very lucky to have you.” She said, not needing her Seer ability to notice how comfortable and happy Lucien and the mortal Queen were around one another.
“Thank you, Elain." He said, blushing slightly and not bothering to deny his coupling with Vassa. “Well, I’d better get to it, before Nesta comes back and drags me out of here. I didn't just come to pass on my congratulations, I came to give you something.” He said, pulling a small compass from his pocket and holding it out for her to take.
Elain felt the tears prick at her eyes almost immediately as she recognized it and took it into her shaking hand.
“Your father gave this to me when we started our journey back to Prythian, he asked me to give it to you today-on your wedding day, something old?” He added, slightly confused.
Elain smiled sadly, as she ran her thumb over the cracked glass. Today, the pain of his loss was especially strong, she'd been feeling his absence all day, had spent the last few weeks wishing that he could have met Azriel and the rest of their family. She hoped that wherever he was, that he knew that she was safe, happy and with someone who loved her. “It doesn’t work, hasn’t for ages, I tried to use it once and from then on it would only point North. Papa just kept it for good luck."
Lucien watched her. “Maybe it was never meant to work for him. Y’know you can’t get much farther North than the Night court, or the Illyrian Mountains.”
“That’s a lovely thought, Lucien.” She said softly, tears filling her eyes. “Thank you, for helping him be here in some way today.” She cried, pressing the compass to her heart as she threw her arm around him, hugging him tightly. Lucien hugged her back, not letting go until she did. Another knock at the door brought Rhysand sauntering in, shutting the door behind him.
“Making the bride cry, Luc?” he teased.
“Happy tears, only happy tears.” Elain said, dabbing her tears away. “Is it time?”
“Just about.” He nodded, clapping Lucien on the back in greeting.
“I’d better get back to Vassa.” Lucien said, hugging Elain one last time as she whispered her thanks again before he walked out and headed back to the hall.
Elain smiled up at Rhysand. “How is he?”
“Feeling like the luckiest man alive.” He said, grinning. “He’s not wrong. You’re absolutely stunning.”
Elain blushed, tears in her eyes. “Thank you, but I’m the lucky one.”
“You’re perfect for him, you know, perfect together.” he said, getting choked up.
Elain watched him, she rarely saw him this emotional and she couldn’t help but wrap her arms around him as he choked out. “Thank you for loving him, El, the way he deserves.”
“I promise to take care of him, Rhys, to love him and protect him like you have Feyre. He means everything to me.” She promised.
“I know you will, El, of that, I have no doubt. Now, if I take any longer, Az is gonna gonna come in here to get you himself, but I have one last task to complete before we go, per human tradition and Nesta’s orders. I’m told you require something old-“
Elain nodded, tapping the compass that now dangled from her bouquet.
“Something new?” He watched as she motioned to her dress. “Something borrowed?” Elain showed off the jeweled hairpins that Feyre had let her borrow, a solstice gift from Rhysand. “Something borrowed usually comes from family who are happily married, in hopes that their happiness will transfer over to the new couple.” Elain added.
“Well, I know you and Az will be every bit as happy as Feyre and I are, and that just leaves something blue.” Elain nodded and tapped the blue ribbon wrapped around her bouquet, it was the same ribbon Azriel had tied around the first bouquet of flowers he’d ever given her.
"Shall we then?” Rhysand smiled and offered his hand and she took it, laughing as he lifted his hand to twirl her before tucking her hand into the crook of his arm and giving her a nod. Elain returned it, a dazzling smile already on her face, she was ready and they both headed out.
Azriel took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as he stood waiting.
“Keep breathing like that and you’ll faint before she gets out here.” Cassian teased, smiling over at him. Azriel chuckled and smiled, Cassian had never seen his brother so happy before and he wished more than anything that he and his brothers would enjoy this kind of happiness for the rest of their long, long lives.
Elain and Rhysand stood just on the other side of the closed doors, Feyre and Nesta adjusting Elain’s veil and flowers until it really was time and they both filed through the open doors as soft orchestral music filled the great hall. Cassian winked at Nesta as she made her way to stand at the opposite side of the altar.
“Our turn, El.” Rhysand said, patting her hand and waiting for her to nod before leading her down the aisle. His smile broadened as he felt Elain’s grip tighten slightly as Azriel came in to view, her smile bright enough to light up the entire room.
Elain couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, he was the most handsome male she had ever seen, a fairytale prince ready for their happily ever after.
Azriel’s breath caught and he stilled as Elain entered the hall, stunned by her ethereal beauty and grace. Rhysand walked arm in arm with her, bringing her closer to him, closer to their future together with each step, her eyes never leaving his.
In the first row of seats, his mother dabbed the tears from her eyes. Mor held back tears of her own, Emerie giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Nuala and Cerridwen held each other's hands, dabbing their tears and reveling in the union of their Spymaster and best friend. Amren watched, nodding to Azriel, her way of saying he’d done well for himself…and not to screw it up. Never before in his life had Azriel ever thought that this kind of happiness would ever be a part of his life, but here he was-again, he realized. He’d been here before, in a dream, a dream that was finally coming true. Every bad thing that had ever happened to him, every bad thing that he’d ever done, felt washed away by this newfound happiness, this blissful existence he had finally found with Elain.
Rhysand and Elain finally reached the end of the aisle, Rhys carefully lifting her veil and kissing her cheek before handing her off to Azriel and joining Cassian at his side, Feyre and Nesta at Elain’s side. The smile that Elain leveled up at Azriel was so full of love it made his heart feel as if it were bursting at the seams. It warmed his heart and made his soul sing, he lowered his head and Elain reached up to brush his tears away, her eyes glossy now too. Azriel turned, pressing a kiss to her palm before Gwyn cleared her throat and began, thrilling at the chance to officiate this unique ceremony for her mentor and her new friend.
“Honored and cherished guests, we are gathered here today on this joyous occasion to celebrate the marriage and union between Azriel and Elain Archeron. A union honoring not only the human traditions of Elain’s former mortal life, but celebrating the loving bond that the mother and cauldron have seen fit to bless them with in her new fae life.
This union is a promise, a vow to love, cherish and honor one another for the rest of their lives. It is a symbol of the love and bond that exists between them, a symbol of how far they have come and a vow to face any new challenges together as one. Now, as is tradition, the Bride and Groom will exchange vows.
Gwyn’s smile glowed as she watched, completely enthralled as Azriel turned to Elain, taking her shaking hand in his, his eyes of warm honey meeting her amber pools as he recited his vows.
“Elain, I pledge to you my everlasting devotion, loyalty and respect. I vow to honor you everyday, to protect you and cherish your dreams as if they were my own. My heart, my soul, my life, all of me is yours and has been from the moment I met you. Thank you for dreaming with me, building a future with me, for choosing me, for loving me.” Azriel’s voice was thick with emotion, Elain squeezed his hand gently, her eyes never leaving his, even as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I can’t promise that things will always be perfect but I can promise that I will always be there to face any challenge with you, be your light in any darkness, I will always come for you. I will spend eternity loving you and showing you everyday that I hold you higher than the stars. I swear to love you in this life and every lifetime hereafter.
Azriel took a shuddering breath, relief washing over him that he hadn’t stumbled over his words, his charming smile returning as he looked down at Elain as she began to recite her vows.
Elain smiled up at him, love shining in her eyes like he had never seen before as she gently took his hand in her own and recited the vows she had written for him.
“Azriel, You are the most incredible person I have ever known. I am so lucky to be standing beside you today. I vow to protect, honor, respect and cherish you forever. To be your sunshine when darkness falls, your comfort when you feel pain and the kiss that wakes you every day. I promise to grow alongside you to become the people that we’re meant to be together. Thank you for showing me what true love really is, you are the love of my life, my best friend, my everything.” Azriel reached up to gently thumb her tears away before wiping his own. “You are my dream come true, the song in my soul and my light in the darkness. You will forever have my heart, my soul and my hand. If I lived a thousand lives, I would choose you every time. I swear to love you in this life and every lifetime hereafter.
Gwyn dabbed at her eyes, sniffling as she continued. “Azriel, do you take Elain to be your wedded wife, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
Azriel nodded. “I do. Let this ring be a symbol of my vows to you, my best friend, my wife, of our unending love.” He slipped the ring onto Elain’s finger, a band of diamonds and sapphires, 7 sapphires to match his 7 siphons. Azriel’s heart felt whole and full as he placed a gentle kiss on her ring.
Gwyn beamed. “Elain, do you take Azriel to be your wedded husband, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
Elain nodded, “I do. Let this ring be a symbol of my vows to you, my best friend, my husband, of our unending love.” Elain beamed as she slid the band onto Azriel’s finger, engraved with Illyrian runes for “love” and “eternity”. Elain placed her own kiss over his ring, lacing their fingers together as they turned to face Gwyn.
“May the mother and the cauldron continue to bless your bond, your love, your future and this marriage. May your bonded hearts and twin souls never be parted, and may there be no storm your love cannot weather. With all the power and authority that I possess, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Azriel, you may kiss your Bride.”
At last Azriel cradled Elain’s face in his hands and their lips met, a kiss of unyielding, undying and everlasting love, those golden threads of their bond dancing and winding around them, their souls more bound to one another than ever before. Elain’s heart soared, it was more wonderful than any wedding she could have imagined before, because she was surrounded by family and friends that she loved and she was standing beside her one true soulmate, the man she would happily spend the rest of her life with. Azriel pulled away, kissing her once and twice more before linking his pinky with hers. “Until the end of forever.”
Elain nodded, sealing it with another kiss. “Until the end of forever.”
Swirls of ink seemed curl and flourish under their wedding rings, peeking around the edges and complimenting them perfectly, symbols of their love and their promise to honor and cherish one another until the end of their days and beyond, honoring both their traditions in this unbreakable bargain and bond.
Azriel smiled and led Elain back down the aisle, picking her up and carrying her through their cheering friends and family as the music played again.
"That was lovely..." Gwyn said, watching as she dabbed the tears from her eyes. "but what happens next?" she whispered to Cassian.
Cassian smirked, offering his arm to Nesta. "Now, we revel! Drink and dance!"
"And singing? I heard there might be singing..." Gwyn said, following the pair where they would all dance, drink, sing and celebrate the happiness that they had all finally found.
