Phoenix stilled. He was unable to ask a question, form a theory, or demand an explanation. He only stared at Azure, shocked that the Snake knew his name and shocked even more that he knew Jack and Eleanor's.

"I'm working with someone called Ravager," Azure said, "and he's told me some...interesting stories." He was silent for a moment, looking first at the note in his hand and then at the night sky. "He was the leader of a supervillain group of four. A League agent showed mercy to a member, Thunder, and treated him kindly. It prompted him to have a change of heart. To turn good. Ravager didn't like that. They had a falling out, and Ravager ended up killing him. Electra quit. Naturally, the blame fell on the League agent." He finally looked at Phoenix. "John Anderson."

Revenge, Phoenix realized. The entire time, it was about revenge.

"Agent Anderson didn't think Thunder would turn because of him. Ravager's team was skilled, and news about them rarely reached even the most embedded League scouts, so Anderson had no idea the team dissolved, let alone that he was the reason for it. It didn't matter—Ravager wanted vengeance. His remaining teammate, the Ice Witch, was the one with the intelligence and information skills. She later discovered that John was married to a fellow League agent, and they had kids. Twins. Only a few months old."

Phoenix swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew where this was going. He only hoped the details didn't make it worse.

"Ravager ordered the Ice Witch to kidnap the kids, and she did. Then he told her to kill them, and she said she did, and he never saw or heard from her again. Since he knew he wouldn't find her, and he was satisfied knowing the Andersons were suffering, he disappeared, too. The team was history." Azure paused. "But based on information from...other sources, I know the Ice Witch didn't kill the kids. She kept them and told them they were adopted. Gave them her last name—Syversson. Made herself impossible to find. I can only guess that she wasn't cruel enough to murder them for Ravager, but she still genuinely despised John and Helen enough to keep their children away from them. The guilt caught up to her, though. She committed suicide recently."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes. How did Azure have other sources who were able to tell him what Ice Witch did, and that she recently died?

"I don't understand," Phoenix said. "Why do you care about this? How does this have anything to do with you?"

Azure closed his eyes. Opened them. "It matters to me because Jack and Eleanor are Crimson and Violet."

The words rattled around in Phoenix's head a few times before he felt the impact of them. Jack and Eleanor are Crimson and Violet. Kate mentioned that Crimson and Violet might be siblings. They looked to be around the right age. Phoenix recalled all his encounters with them; not even once had anything seemed special.

And yet, he knew this was real.

And somehow, he was learning this from Azure.

Phoenix shook his head. "How do you know?"

"I already knew about my teammates' lives with their mother. After hearing Ravager's story, it was fairly easy to put those pieces together. And that's not all." Azure turned sideways and extended an arm, holding the piece of paper out as far as he could without stepping closer to Phoenix. "This is the Ice Witch's suicide note."

Phoenix mimicked his stance so he could grab the note without getting too close. They were in a temporary armistice, but they both knew better than to risk proximity. He unfolded the paper to reveal small, neat handwriting.

Dear Elle and Jack,

I don't have the time, energy, or desire to write an introduction. There is no good way to lead into what comes next.

In support of a friend and out of anger over the death of a former friend, I stole you from your parents and raised you myself. I considered it as revenge on your parents, and later, as a favor for you, because the plan was for you to die. At the very least, I saved you from that.

For a while, I was placated. Over time, it began to feel like I had an open wound. Like it was festering. I felt as if I hadn't properly ended a chapter of my life, that although I had you, I had not achieved full retribution on the cause of my team's dismantlement.

Do you recall, Jack, the house I had you burn three years ago? In Rochester? I told you it was the home of a former enemy of mine; that part was true. I also assured you that there was no one in the house, and that burning it down would result in only material and financial distress, not loss of life.

That part was a lie. Your parents were in that house. It was cruel of me to have you burn it down, I knew it even at the time. I have no excuses.

With your parents dead, I had finally closed my past. I no longer cared about my former friends or revenge. And now, I have come to the conclusion that I am simply finished. I have done enough. That's why I'll be dead when you read this.

I have also come to the conclusion that, in a karmic twist of fate, I care about you, and I am so, so very sorry for everything I have done to you and to your family. You should know that your parents had two more kids. One is dead now, but the other, Phoenix Anderson, is still alive. If you so choose, find him and tell him what I've told you.

I've decided to end my story entirely. I am sorry that you'll have to pick through a burned house and see my charred corpse, but it is necessary that I do it by fire.

It's only fair.

Love,

Tilde

Phoenix looked up from the paper. His heart wasn't pounding; it felt heavy and slow, like it would stop any second. "Do they know?" he asked softly.

"No. They entrusted the note to me because they didn't want to know what was in it."

"And does Ravager know? That your old Snake partners are the kids he wanted dead?"

"I didn't tell him."

"Why?"

Azure went still. "I...don't want them to be targeted."

He was actively working with Ravager, but he was keeping his old partners' identities a secret from him to protect them. It didn't make sense. Phoenix reread the header of the note; Tilde called them Jack and Elle. She kidnapped them, hid their past, made their last name her own, but she didn't change their first names. I have no excuses. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She just didn't care. Maybe letting them keep Jack and Eleanor was a bit of mercy. Phoenix didn't understand her, or Azure. Villains were turning out to be complicated.

"Why did you give this to me?" Phoenix asked.

"Because Crimson and Violet weren't sure they wanted the truth, and I didn't know how they would take it."

"That explains why you didn't give it back to them, but why did you give it to me?" Phoenix shook his head. "I'm not your friend. If anything, I'm your enemy. So why bother?"

Azure walked around the roof in thought, never crossing the centerline to Phoenix's side. Eventually, he sighed. "Your family is a tragedy. I thought you deserved closure, and now you at least have the option of reuniting your family if you decide to tell Crimson and Violet." He looked at Phoenix suddenly. "But don't tell them, or anyone, anything until this is all over," he warned. "We can't risk Ravager, or anyone else who'd complicate things, finding out. You and I are the only ones who know the full story, and it'll stay that way for now."

Phoenix folded the note and slipped it into his pocket. All three of his questions were answered. He knew what happened to Jack and Eleanor, he knew where they were present-day...and he knew how his parents died. He finally had the truth, all of it, from the last person he'd expect.

"Thank you."

Azure seemed caught off guard by the genuine gratitude. "You know," he murmured, "I spent a long time figuring out how to tell that story properly. I had to piece together Ravager's tales, Crimson and Violet's accounts of their mother, and Tilde's note. You likely noticed her note is vague. She told the whole story, but without names and the fine details. The only reason you and I have the whole picture is because we found the right things from the right people." He laughed. "Funny how that works."

Azure leaned back against the parapet and sighed at the sky, and for a moment, he changed. For a moment, he didn't look composed. He looked weary and tired and lost. Then he looked at Phoenix, and the intimidating, cold glare was back. Phoenix tensed, aware that their moment of peace was over.

"This doesn't change anything," Azure said. "We're still on opposite sides. If we see each other again, I won't be holding back."

Phoenix nodded curtly.

"And for obvious reasons, you're no longer in the Nameless."

Azure hopped up onto the parapet, all but one of the sparrows flying away in response to his movement. A swirling black appeared around him, and he seemed unbothered that the slightest lean backwards would send him falling off the building. The shadows fully surrounded him, and then he was gone.

Phoenix carefully approached the edge and peered down, just to make sure he hadn't simply jumped, but there was no one below. He got too close to the last sparrow, and it fled, leaving him completely alone.

Phoenix took a deep breath. He had things to think over and a secret to keep. If he reported nothing to the League, then the investigation on his family would stay open, and they would keep probing. But he couldn't tell the truth, not until this was all over, and a lie would need evidence to back it up. He needed a way to convince the investigators to close the case without telling them that he found Jack and Eleanor.

He exhaled slowly, feeling tired down to his bones, but overshadowing that was relief. The truth was tragic and complicated, and deciding what to do with it would also be complicated, but at least he had it. He looked up; the sky was dark, but with Jethro's light pollution, no stars were visible. He found it ironic. He couldn't see what was out there, but for the first time in a long time, he finally had clarity.