The Nora Theory

*warning: this post contains spoilers for the entire A Court of Thorns and Roses series, a major plot point in Throne of Glass, and some discussion of House of Flame and Shadow*

In a recent interview, Sarah J. Maas confirmed that her next book release will be the sixth book in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series, and after we all collectively did a little happy dance, the internet immediately began to speculate. Much of this speculation surrounded Azriel, the mysterious shadow-wielding member of the Inner Circle, and the internet’s favorite bat boy.

Maas has not yet officially confirmed that the focus of this book will be Azriel, but Feyre and Rhysand have had their moment, Cassian and Nesta’s story seems pretty well tied up at the moment, and there are a lot of open questions that remain about Azriel, so I think it is a pretty solid guess that book six will be at least partially from his point-of-view.

Readers last saw Azriel in House of Flame and Shadow, the third book in the Crescent City series. There weren’t many details revealed about what was going on in his life at the time, but he spends some time with Bryce and Nesta, and I choose to believe the fact that he was the one chosen for this role means that he’s going to be a prominent fixture in the series next chapter. There are several possibilities for how that might play out.

One of the most popular fan theories is that Azriel is going to end up with the third Archeron sister, Elain. Although Elain is Lucien’s mate, she wants nothing to do with him so far, and she and Azriel have had very sweet moments of connection. The fake mates precedent was set in the Throne of Glass series, and the universe has yet to explore truly breaking a mating bond, but either of those could be possible to clear the way for Azriel and Elain to be together.

That said, the rest of the Inner Circle bat boys are happily mated, and I deeply feel that Azriel deserves his own mating bond. If Elain and Lucien are true mates, it feels a little cruel to deprive him of that bond. Even though it’s supposedly rare. Which it totally isn’t. Azriel has been through so much, and he deserves the same eventual happy ending as Rhysand and Cassian. I think it would require some serious plot gymnastics to make that come true for him with Elain.

The story I am personally rooting for is Azriel and Gwyn. They seem so well suited for each other, and I would love to see these two wonderful characters, who have both been through hell, handling their trauma together, healing, and finding love. This would also give readers more of the Valkyries, and I, for one, am fully here for that in whatever capacity it comes.

There’s also always the possibility that Azriel’s love interest will be a whole new character that hasn’t been introduced yet, or that readers simply haven’t thought of. The above theories certainly seem the most plausible, but SJM has surprised us before, and will certainly do it again.

Whoever Azriel might end up pursuing, there will undoubtedly be some dangerous conflict they have to overcome. Going into book six, there are unanswered questions about Lucien’s family left purposely open-ended that could be a potential source of drama. I very much think the Autumn Court and the group’s shared history with them is going to play a significant role.

It’s possible that my entire theory is wrong, and the next book could be from Mor’s point-of-view instead, or Elain’s, or even Lucien’s. Azriel would certainly still feature in all of these stories, though, so no matter what book six will give us more information about what’s next for our beloved Shadowsinger.

SJM seems to be working on drafting the novel now. We’re all hoping that book six in the ACOTAR universe will hit shelves sometime in 2025, but given Maas’ usual publishing schedule, readers will probably have to wait for 2026.