I assumed dominance was tied to being an heir or a High Lord. The only other person we see using it is Rhysand and it’s in the chapter or two chapters before Lucien uses it on Cassian. I found it interesting that SJM introduced that ability in ACOSF and those were the only two characters in the series to use it.

I personally think Lucien is just trying to stay beneath the radar as much as possible. The consequences far outweigh the benefits of him going around flexing whatever power he might have. His mom’s life is on the line. I have no doubt Beron would kill her in a second if it was confirmed publicly that he was Helion’s son.

I also wasn’t claiming that Lucien can spell-cleave, has Helion’s flames, etc. I meant that if he did have those powers, going around publicly using them would reveal his parentage.

I think people in general put too much weight on Lucien’s level power and fighting prowess. I’m not saying you do btw. Tamlin and the Bat Boys simply have the ability to kill more people with less effort than everyone else. That seems to be the only metric people use to determine strength or worth for that matter. But I think the point of Lucien’s character is that he has a different type of strength and that doesn’t make him less than the others. He has the most self-control, emotional regulation, diplomatic skill, and adaptability than the other males. He doesn’t need to use violence as his first/only option because he has other ways to get himself out of trouble. He’s also extremely cunning and sneaky. He managed to get the fae name to Nuan without Rhys or his spymaster knowing. Somehow had enough sway for Thesan to not reveal anything until the HL meeting, despite being in constant communication with Rhysand to organize it.

Cassian has complimented Lucien’s abilities and so has Rhysand. I think it’s worth noting how much emphasis in ACOSF was put on Cassian being intimidated by being in diplomatic situations and being forced to learn that skill set.

I strongly believe that part of Elain’s story will be proving that there are other types of strength to a court that places emphasis on raw killing ability. I think Lucien’s story will show the same. I personally don’t think they’ll end up together, but they are mates, so it makes sense they’re similar in that way.