Elaida isn't a Darkfriend, but she's evil in her own right, as she's so convinced she's serving the Light, she's willing to dispose of other heroes to do so.

A critical storyline in The Wheel of Time season 3's ending was the Breaking of the White Tower, which saw Elaida stage a coup against Siuan Sanche. Elaida killed the former Amyrlin Seat and took the power for herself, but the episode began with a flashback sequence dating back to their earlier days as Aes Sedai, in the original election that established the long-lasting friction between them. Aside from just exploring the rivalry between Red and Blue Ajah, this scene places a curious hint at Elaida's reasoning.

The Wheel Of Time's Aelfinn Reveal Hints Elaida's Foretellings Are Fake

Elaida Might Be Making Some Shady Deals On The Side

Fortelling is a powerful ability that allows certain characters in The Wheel of Time universe to tell the future. There are very few characters in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books who possess this skill, and even fewer in the show, but Elaida is commonly believed to be one of them. However, the season finale opens with Elaida exiting a redstone gateway, much like the one Mat entered later in the episode, where he met with an Eelfinn.

The fact that she speaks with the Finn races suggests that she might not be Foretelling, but relying on them for information in return for some form of payment.

Elaida returns to the White Tower and looks longingly at a bracelet on her wrist, off of which dangles a key. She's soon asked what the Aelfinn promised her, to which Elaida responds, "The Amyrlin Seat itself." Ten years ed before Elaida would actually claim the Amyrlin Seat, but the fact that she speaks with the Finn races suggests that she might not be Foretelling, but relying on them for information in return for some form of payment.

What Elaida's Secret Aelfinn Meetings Could Mean For Her Future

Elaida's Meetings Will Almost Surely Backfire

It seems that Elaida is currently reaping the benefits of whatever her trip to the Finn land brought her, but this also foreshadows a price for her actions, which could be tied to the bracelet. In the novels, Elaida is eventually made damane by the Seanchan when they attack the White Tower. The use of ter'angreal collars and bracelets is often connected in The Wheel of Time due to their role in creating One Power links. We might not have all the pieces to predict Elaida's fate yet, but it will likely involve her subjugation as punishment.