It's still said by some that if the Azriel POV Bonus Chapter was truly important, it would not have had a limited distribution.

This is obviously an argument being put out there because some realize there was a lot in that Bonus Chapter to indicate problems for the future of E/riel and mate-like coding for Gwynriel as well as an acceptance of Az and his shadows as a package deal whereas the shadows hide from Elain.

I don't agree with the argument. Just because not everyone has access to it doesn't mean it can't contain hints to future books. All it means is that some people will find out sooner rather than later what will eventually happen.

Wings & Embers strongly suggested the future of Nessian and even if you hadn't read it, it did not change the fact that Nessian became a thing.

But let's just say the POV chapter never existed. This is what we've got going on in Silver Flame:

Az on Elain -

Nesta saw the blow land, like a physical impact, in Elain’s face, her posture. No one spoke, though shadows gathered in the corners of the room, like snakes preparing to strike.

Mor no longer sat beside Cassian, draped herself over him, and Azriel … those longing glances toward her had become few and far between. As if he’d given up. After five hundred years, he’d somehow given up. Cassian couldn’t think why.

Azriel stiffened, an outright sign of temper from him as he said quietly, “There is an innate darkness to the Dread Trove that Elain should not be exposed to.” <- cringy but whatever

“My shadows don’t like the flames so much.” A pretty lie. She’d seen Azriel before the fire plenty. But she looked at who sat close to it and knew the answer.

His secret to tell, never hers.

Those are all the "hints" of Az having feelings for Elain prior to Solstice. After Solstice, he's in a bad mood but we have no idea why. There are also at least three months that occur between Solstice and the end of the novel with no further interaction between Az and Elain. But before that we know Az is looking at Mor a lot less now (though there are still the occasional glances as few and far between doesn't mean zero). We know he's protective of Elain and that he's feeling something for her. But that doesn't mean much of anything, we've always suspected that to be the case. That doesn't mean love or anything long lasting. You can have a secret crush on someone that never leads to anything. An unrequited crush can still feel excruciating even if it's not meant to be. Az pining for an unattainable female is not a new thing. As far as we can tell, he pined for Mor but since that didn't work, he has now jumped ship and is pining for Elain.

Let's talk about Elain on her feelings for Az in Silver Flames -

Azriel offered her a small smile that Elain quickly looked away from. Cassian tucked away his puzzlement. Lucien was certainly not here to snarl at any male who looked at her for too long.

Feel free to add to that if I've missed anything but..... Wow. I'm completely overwhelmed by the very obvious interest Elain is displaying towards Az. So, so, so many clues that she's completely enamored by him 🤦

Without that POV Chapter, I don't think I would even known Elain would be open to kissing Az. She seems completely disinterested in him in Silver Flames. If the POV Chapter was not in existence, there would honestly be nothing in the book that made me think she had any sort of feelings for him. So anyone claiming she wants Az and is ready to break her bond for him..... Where are we getting that from again?

For everyone's blustering about Elain being uncomfortable around Lucien, Elain looking away from Az when he smiles at her and her having a total of zero words exchanged with him in Silver Flames isn't some sort of glowing endorsement either. And the difference is we know Elain and Az have previously spent time together. You'd expect them to have a bit more camaraderie what with them having become "so close" and all. The fact that there isn't doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy about two people who know one another "so well".

And I truly believe that when it comes to the Archeron sisters, it's about what they want and when they want it. Not what the male wants. It doesn't matter to me that Az wants Elain (whether it be for the right or wrong reasons). In SF, there is nothing to indicate that Elain wants Az.

With the POV chapter, all I'm convinced of is that Elain wanted a little horizontal acrobatic fun with him. Without it, I'm not convinced she wants even that.

Pick your battle. Is the POV chapter important or not? If it's important than we know Elain was willing to kiss Az but chose to walk away from whatever was building between them when she returned his gift. We know that Az could not confirm that he was over Mor, hasn't thought of Elain beyond his fantasies and all he could tell Rhys is that he was about to kiss her because he feels like she should be his mate because his brothers got the two sisters. We know Az ended up interacting with another female who he expresses respect and admiration for, who likes a part of him that no one else seems to bother acknowledging, and who (at the thought of her happiness) brought a smile to his face.

If it's not important than it doesn't sound like Elain is all that interested in him anyway.