The 12 Wildest ‘ACOTAR 6’ Fan Theories You

Fleurine TidemanSat, September 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC

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A Court of Splintered Harmony cover - BloomsburyThe 'ACOTAR 6' possibilities are endless.

Romantasy pals, our impatience has finally been rewarded — two new ACOTAR books are officially on the way. Sarah J. Maas chose the most iconic way possible to make the announcement, dropping not one but two book covers, complete with titles and blurbs. You just know she was kicking her feet and giggling while the internet collectively lost its mind.

The next two installments, labeled Movement I and Movements II & III on their covers, are A Court of Splintered Harmony, releasing on October 27, 2026, and A Court of Forgotten Melody, arriving on January 12, 2027. Together, they’ll make up the first three parts of the four-part The Valkyrie Cycle.

Naturally, the internet is already overflowing with theories about ACOTAR 6, and they range from genuinely convincing to completely unhinged. Here are some of the best ones we’ve stumbled across during our own delightfully unproductive doomscrolling.

Emerie will be the protagonist

One of the biggest ACOTAR 6 theories is that Emerie will be the novel’s protagonist, or at least one of them. The reasoning? This new arc is called The Valkyrie Cycle, and in A Court of Silver Flames, the Valkyries referred to Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn as they revived the legendary group of female warriors. Since Nesta has already had her story, many fans believe the next two books will focus on the other two Valkyries.

A Court of Forgotten Melody — aka ACOTAR 7 — seems like an obvious fit for Gwyn. She sings in the Temple of the Wind’s choir and has long been associated with musical imagery. There’s also her lingering chemistry with Azriel, who just so happens to be the Night Court’s Shadowsinger. That would leave A Court of Splintered Harmony as Emerie’s story, though exactly what that title refers to is less clear. One possibility is her relationship with Mor. The pair have shared several loaded moments, and fans have long speculated that their connection could develop into something more.

Vassa is leading the charge

We already know the next two books will pit the characters against Koschei, the ancient death-god, as the saga’s next major villain. Need a refresher? Koschei is the eldest — and only surviving — of the three ancient, immensely powerful death gods. He imprisoned the human queen Vassa and others at his enchanted lake, cursing her to spend each day transformed into a firebird. She eventually secured temporary freedom through a bargain, leading to the unlikely alliance of Vassa, Lucien, and Jurian.

Given her history with Koschei, it seems almost inevitable that Vassa will play a major role in finally bringing him down. Many fans believe she’ll lead the charge alongside her two companions. That theory also ties neatly into Lucien’s story, especially since Beron, the High Lord of the Autumn Court, previously pledged his forces to Briallyn, Koschei’s ally and the human queen-turned-villain. If that’s still in play, the stage could be set for a major conflict between the Autumn Court and the forces opposing Koschei, with other courts inevitably being drawn into the war.

Plus, flame imagery and firebird queen? It seems too obvious.

Elain will reject the mating bond

With Elain continuing to ignore her mating bond with Lucien, one of the biggest ACOTAR 6 theories is that we’ll finally see an explicitly rejected, or even broken, mating bond. If that happens, Elain would be free to choose her own future rather than one dictated by fate. Some fans think that means a shocking romance with Tamlin (bear with us, we’ll get to that), while many others are convinced she’ll ultimately end up with Azriel.

Fans also point to the pattern in Sarah J. Maas’ storytelling. Each Archeron sister has been the “first” to do something significant, and many believe Elain could become the first character to reject a mating bond. There are also plenty of hints that she’s destined to stop letting others make decisions for her, reveal the fiercer side of her personality, and choose a love that’s stronger than fate itself. And, of course, there’s the symmetry fans can’t stop talking about: three “brothers” and three sisters is exactly the kind of parallel SJM loves.

Elain has two mating bonds

It’s becoming pretty obvious that the Cauldron has a soft spot for Elain, gifting her with the Sight and seemingly taking a particular interest in her fate. So, naturally, fans have a wild question: What if it also gifted her two mating bonds?

It would be completely unheard of, but then again, so is just about everything that happens to this crew. What if Elain has a mating bond with Azriel, too? That could explain why she’s so resistant to her bond with Lucien and why she seems so much more drawn to Azriel.

Or, this could be another Throne of Glass moment. Fans have theorized that Elain and Lucien’s bond could be a false or magically manipulated one, similar to the bond Maeve placed on Rowan. Rowan eventually noted that he felt the supposed bond much more strongly than Lyra did, which has led fans to draw comparisons to Elain and Lucien: Lucien seems deeply affected by the bond, while Elain appears to want absolutely nothing to do with it.

Basically, either Elain has two mating bonds, or the one with Lucien isn’t quite what it seems. And honestly, with our girlie SJM, we’re not ruling out either.

Tamlin is (sadly) involved

Maas has teased that she isn’t done with Tamlin just yet, and fans have plenty of theories about what that could mean.

Some believe Tamlin is only pretending the Spring Court is completely ruined and is secretly rebuilding his power behind the scenes. Could he play a pivotal role in the next books, perhaps through an unexpected alliance… or even a redemption arc tied to Elain?

And then there’s the Spring Court itself. Could Elain eventually find her way there and help bring it back to life? She’s famously fond of gardening; her old bookshelf was painted with flowers (iykyk), and Cassian specifically notes that the Night Court’s darkness seems to drain the life from her. A return to the lush, flower-filled Spring Court could therefore be exactly what she needs.

Plus, there are all those musical references. Tamlin and his fiddle? Need we say more?

What’s in a cover?

Previous ACOTAR covers have generally featured one dominant color: red, green, pink, blue, or orange. These two new books, however, blend several shades together in an ombré effect. Could that be a visual hint at the alliances to come, with the different Courts finally putting aside their grievances to face a common enemy?

But it may be the specific colors that matter most. The pink appears to be pulled straight from A Court of Wings and Ruin, while the blue mirrors A Court of Mist and Fury. Could that suggest the new books will echo themes from those earlier installments?

ACOMAF, of course, was the big love triangle book, so could we be heading toward more Gwyn, Azriel, and Elain drama? Meanwhile, ACOWAR was all about the Courts joining forces against a common enemy… perhaps another piece of foreshadowing for what’s to come.

And then there’s all that gold. Both covers feature plenty of it, and gold is a color frequently associated with both the Dusk Court and the Valkyries. Suspicious…

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Lucien finds his daddy

This theory suggests that Lucien is fully aware that Helion, the High Lord of the Day Court, is his biological father, with fans pointing to his intelligence, unique powers, and secret visits to the Day Court as evidence.

One eagle-eyed fan has also noticed that Lucien’s physical description seems to change slightly throughout the books, potentially hinting at a glamour… or perhaps suggesting that he’s preparing to become a High Lord himself. His appearance is repeatedly described as brighter and more striking than the people around him, and if he really is Helion’s only heir, maybe he’s finally preparing to step up to the plate.

If Lucien does eventually take over the Day Court, that could also tie neatly into Elain and her ongoing flower motif. Daylight, flowers, sunshine… we see what you’re doing here, SJM.

The focus on Lucien is further supported by the flames featured on the cover of A Court of Splintered Harmony. And then there’s his mechanical eye, which surely has to be important. There’s no way we’re going to spend all this time wondering about that thing for it to do absolutely nothing. Is it capable of surveillance? Reading auras? Seeing through glamours? We need answers.

Throne of Glass crossover

In House of Flame and Shadow, we finally got the Crescent City and ACOTAR crossover we’d been waiting for, with Bryce traveling to Prythian. Since then, fans have been rabid for a crossover with SJM’s completed series, Throne of Glass — yes, it’s us; we are absolutely those fans. Now, there’s fresh fuel for the fire, thanks to an eight-pointed star appearing in the imagery for these new novels and on Maas’ website.

Could it be a reference to the Starborn, aka Ruhn and Bryce from Crescent City? Or could it point all the way back to Queen Aelin Galathynius? The music references certainly feel very Aelin-coded, given her well-known love of classical music. We might have to wait until ACOTAR 7 for that particular crossover, though, as the cover appears to feature Stygian spiders — the creatures that served as Maeve’s loyal handmaidens in Throne of Glass. And that blue-and-gold color combination? Could it be a nod to those famously turquoise-and-gold-ringed Ashryver eyes?

Now for something completely rogue: What if the 13 princesses Koschei has trapped are actually the Thirteen from Throne of Glass? The Thirteen always swore “from now until the darkness claims us,” but technically, they were claimed by the light, not the darkness…

And if we’re going fully off the rails, there’s also the theory that Mor is actually Asterin’s child, who didn’t die after all. Is this completely bonkers? Yes. Do we want it to be true? Also yes.

The truth about Mor…

There are still so many unanswered questions surrounding Mor and her powers, and many fans are wondering if ACOTAR 6 will finally give us some answers. We also still don’t know exactly what went down between Mor and Eris all those years ago. Given that fans are absolutely rabid for an Eris redemption arc — and, yes, a certain amount of Azriel-and-Eris fanfic — we’re very much keeping this mystery on our radar.

Then there are the truly wild theories. One suggests that Azriel was never actually in love with Mor at all; instead, he’s been watching her all these years because he believes she’s dangerous and could be a threat. Another goes even further and theorizes that Mor is somehow Maeve. At this point, we’ve heard enough that we’re willing to entertain almost anything.

Whatever the truth is, fans are convinced ACOTAR 6 will finally crack open some of Mor’s biggest secrets.

And then there’s the new blurb, which says, “To make matters worse, those who rule and protect the Night Court are reeling from recent betrayals and revealed truths.” Naturally, we’re thinking: Mor. If those “revealed truths” concern her, ACOTAR 6 could completely reshape what we thought we knew about one of the Night Court’s most mysterious characters.

Elain and Azriel road trip

Some fans think in ACOTAR 6, Elain and Azriel will be forced to work together on a mission, sending them away from the Night Court and, crucially, out of Rhys and Feyre’s reach. That would give the pair the perfect opportunity to finally explore a forbidden relationship, especially after Rhys explicitly told Azriel to stay away from Elain.

Some theories even have Mor joining them, which could finally give us some much-needed closure, answers, and bonding around both Mor and Azriel’s complicated history and Elain and Mor’s relationship.

Then there’s the potential for a delicious full-circle moment. In ACOWAR, Elain was kidnapped by Hybern and Azriel came to her rescue. What if ACOTAR 6 flips the script? Fans think Koschei could lure or kidnap Azriel, leaving Elain to become the one who has to save him.

Nesta rejects the mating bond

Before you come for us, we’re not saying we believe this ACOTAR 6 theory, just that it’s been suggested. Some fans think Nesta could reject her mating bond with Cassian, either so she can begin her Starborn journey, much like Ruhn and Bryce in Crescent City, to travel to Midgard for another reason, or simply because she’s still figuring things out.

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Others aren’t fans of how Cassian treated Nesta in A Court of Silver Flames and think she could reject the bond because of their complicated relationship. Don’t shoot the messenger!

Rhysand will not become High King

One of the biggest concerns among the other High Lords is that Rhysand is secretly plotting to become High King of Prythian, a title the lands haven’t had in centuries. But what if they’ve got the wrong person? What if Rhys doesn’t become High King… but Feyre becomes High Queen instead?

After all, Rhys has explicitly said he would kneel for Feyre, and SJM clearly has a soft spot for a good matriarchy. Could the future of Prythian be ruled not by a High King, but by its first High Queen?

Let us know your favorite ACOTAR 6 fan theory in the comments!

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”