CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Mary's POV A few hours passed before Edward finally arrive at the room. The look on his face told me something was gravely wrong.
"Edward, what is it?"
I rose to my feet and walked over to him, gently grabbing his arm.
"We have to get out of here. Now."
Before I could get a word out, he picked up Oliver and with his free arm, ushered me out of the room quickly. We hurried down the stairs and out of the hotel.
"Edward, what's going on? What happened?" He shook his head and lead us to a horse carriage.
"I'll explain as soon as we get to the Jackdaw. We need to go see Ah Tabai, immediately."
I nodded slightly, still wanting so badly to know but not willing to slow us down. I climbed aboard the carriage as Edward hijacked the vehicle, rushing us through the streets quickly. After some time passed, we made it to the docking zone. We climbed off of the carriage and made our way onto the Jackdaw. Once we boarded, we set the ship away from the land; making our way back to Ah Tabai.
"What happened, Edward?" I looked over at him as he stood at the wheel. He mournfully looked at me, his face pale.
"I know that Nikolais is the biological father of Oliver, but you need to stay away from him. He is working with Sarah Rogers. They are both Templars and in charge of all of the Templar Order now."
"Sarah Rogers…" I sighed, feeling stupid. How could I have forgotten about Rogers' wife?
"I hadn't realized that she was the one involved in this whole affair. I mean, when I was sick, I could barely register her. She had mentioned her husband once, but I brushed it off when I recovered. I wish I had paid more attention, despite being sick. I wish that I'd-"
"Edward," I interrupted him. "Calm down. Change of plans, we need to find the piece of Eden. We can send a messenger to Ah Tabai filling him in so that he can send out recruits to search as well. The Templars already have the Staff. We need to find the Apple, top priority."
Edward stared at me for a few moments before nodding slightly.
"Understood. There is a carrier pigeon towards the back of the ship. Send forth a note. The bird will take it to Ah Tabai quickly enough."
I nodded and retreated to the back of the ship, finding some paper to write on. I stepped inside of Edward's cabin and sat at his desk, writing down everything that we had learned since I last saw him. I explained the situation with Nikolais, Sarah Rogers, and the pieces of Eden. Once I finished writing, I grabbed some yarn and went outside. I approached the bird and tied the note to his foot. With that done, I shooed the bird off to deliver the note.
I walked back over and sat on a barrel, watching Oliver walk around the ship. The crewmates seemed to enjoy the distraction, playing with him. I smiled softly at him before looking up at Edward. His hair, though in it's usual ponytail, blew behind him gently in the breeze. The light gave it more of a golden glow than it usually had, only complementing his tanned skin. His eyes were their usual sky blue, piercing the distance before him for sight of land away from France. I found myself rising to my feet and walking over to him, taking his hand in mine. He looked over at me and parted his lips, as though to say something. Before he could, however, I leaned up and pressed my lips against his. I wasn't sure of what made me do it, but I couldn't pull away now. The love I felt for him couldn't be contained in that moment. He didn't seem to mind as he kissed me back. He neglected the wheel, fully embracing me. His arms engulfed my frame as my arms encircled his neck. One of his hands ran up my back to comb through my hair. The tender embrace lasted for several minutes, or so it felt like. We both reluctantly pulled away to gather our breaths. Edward's eyes glimmered sinfully before he looked at his crewmates.
"One of you take over for now. We are sailing for America again. Mary and I need to talk in private. Also, watch over Oliver with great care."
With that said, Edward, started pulling me towards his cabin. My face flushed with embarrassment as I realized where this was heading.
"Edward, w-wait," I looked up at him.
"Sorry, Mary. You started it, so you gotta finish it. Take responsibility for your actions."
He closed the door behind us and locked it before leading me towards his bed.
"It's not that. What if I get pregnant again?" I didn't want to raise two kids alone; it was hard enough raising Oliver alone.
"Then our family will grow larger."
I looked up at him as we sat on the bed. Was he serious?
"'Our family?' That's actually happening? What about Jenny?"
"She loves you, Mary. So do I. I want to have our families join to form a bigger one. We won't be alone anymore, and our kids would love having both parents. Besides, we make a great couple of parents."
I stared up at him before smiling, nodding.
"That we do. I did practically raise you," I teased.
He smirked and pushed me back on the bed.
"I guess this would be considered incest then?"
I laughed and undid his ponytail, watching his hair fall around his face.
"Not even in your dreams, Kenway."
He chuckled before kissing me passionately, running a hand through my hair. I reached up and tugged his hair teasingly, pushing myself up against him so that I could remove his armor. It took a couple of minutes before all of his armor was off. I yanked his belts down, removing his weaponry. He pulled away and chuckled softly.
"Having fun there?" I growled at him and narrowed my lustful eyes up at him.
"Shut up and help me."
He laughed before pulling his robes off, leaving him in his pants and boots. I reached out to undo his pants, but he grabbed my hands.
"Uh-uh, your turn."
I blushed as he kissed my neck, his hands threading through my clothing to remove it. He managed to get the heavy jacket off and my own armor, but stopped at my shirt. He kissed down my neck as he ran his hands up my back from under my shirt.
"Edward, stop playing around. Keep it up and I'll leave you like this…"
He chuckled against my neck. "Fine, fine…"
He pulled away only to remove my shirt. He stared at my chest, as though I were a delicate creature. I blushed even more and moved up to press my body against his.
"Stop staring…"
I pressed my lips against his once more, drawing him into another deep kiss. As he was distracted with that, I started to remove his pants. Everything about this whole moment was tender and sweet, rough but gentle at the same time. We move step by step, one after the other. We were perfectly in synch, right from when we began. When his hands covered my body, mine covered his. The whole time, our eyes were locked together in the heated dance. Not once did we break it, despite the constant movement of our bodies. As cliched as it was, we truly became one together. I had slept with others before, like Nikolais, but none of it was as passionate and deep as ours was. It was like we were seeing our entire beings; our souls. He was mine, and I was his. In that moment, nothing else mattered but us.
Even when we finished, it wasn't over. The feeling never left us. Although we had dressed to rejoin the crew, that passion and electricity never once left us. We were still drawn together by the silver thread of fate. Once we left the cabin, Edward returned to the wheel and I returned to the barrel. Although no words were exchanged, I could feel his heart beating with mine.
Finally, we were one.