Elain should not have to become dark to make a relationship with Azriel work. Azriel shouldn’t have to leave his life and family in the Night Court because Elain thrives in the light. These two people, despite being attracted to each other, are not compatible. Which is part of life! Sometimes you’re drawn to people that are absolutely not right for you. That’s what the text is trying to point out with the references to Azriel’s shadows hiding from Elain and Elain looking horrible in black.
Azriel spitballing a plan to MURDER Lucien (who has done nothing wrong except also be forced into this uncomfortable mating bond) and start a war is another example of his incompatiblity with Elain, as is his lack of self awareness about how entitled he sounds when he’s whining about three sisters for three brothers. None of what happened with Elain in the bonus chapter was a good look for Az, absolutely none of it.
For some reason that I don’t quite understand, she brings out the absolute worst in him, not the best. That’s not forbidden love, that’s toxicity.
And y’all need to stop coming for Rhys, because he is the only one who has shown an ounce of common sense about this.
Not to mention Elain does not like war, fighting, violence anything that Azriel is used to as a spy and warrior. If he did murder Lucien and start a war Elain would hate him and would probably feel an unbearable amount of guilt over it despite having no fault in it because Azriel would do all those horrible things for her.
