As I waited for 6:30 to approach, the dread built up more and more. Emmett sighed next to me. Today would be Hope's first day at The Academy. Having an empty house five days a week was going to be depressing. Emmett and I had both grown used to having Hope and Alexei around, especially during this past school break for our son.

"It's going to be so strange," Emmett murmured. I nodded.

The alarm rang, and I heard Alice and Esme rushing over to help get the kids ready.

This would be the first year of The Academy's uniforms. Alice had lobbied Brielle to get herself onto the design committee for uniforms, and then convinced the rest of the committee to approve five different options for both boys and girls. Thanks to that, both my kids and Laura's owned every uniform option, so they could wear a different one everyday.

Emmett and Esme went to help Alexei while Alice and I woke Hope up.

"Good morning, Princess," I said to my sleepy-headed daughter. She reached her arms up to me and I picked her up, holding her close. "Are you ready for your first day of magic school?"

"Mhm. I'm gonna play with Maddie and make new friends, too, Mama," she replied.

Alice popped out of Hope's closet holding today's uniform. It was a short sleeved, lavender dress shirt, purple and blue plaid skirt, and a large matching bow tie. She'd also be wearing white socks with ruffles and brown leather mary janes. Hope and Maddie were going to match today. They'd even picked out matching hairstyles; a half up in two partial french braids, held together with a big bow in the same plaid as their uniforms. Alice had bought two of everything so that the girls could match anytime they wanted.

Hope was quiet as we got her ready, nervous for her first day. She clung to me every second she could. Shortly after both kids finished breakfast, the doorbell rang. It was the Clydes.

"Maddie's here!" Hope cheered, rushing to the door. It was the most energy she'd had all morning. We opened the door together and the two giggling girls jumped into each other's arms. I smiled at their antics.

"Good morning, girls!" I said to Maddie and Lydia.

Lydia smiled at me. "Good morning, Mrs. McCarty!"

"Good morning, Mrs. McCarty," Maddie echoed.

I stepped aside and gestured to the inside of the house. "Come in, come in. Brielle should be here any minute."

Alexei came in with his backpack ready to go as the Clydes entered. "Good morning!"

"Wow, Alexei, look at you," Laura said. "Are you excited to go back to school?"

He nodded. "I have seen Ioseph or AJ in weeks! And we're gonna start learning about other people now. Dedushka and Babushka are going to come in and talk to the class, and Uncle Eleazar is gonna talk to Lydia's class with Mrs. Alma!"

"That's so exciting, Alexei! Are you gonna be nice to your sister at school?"

Alexei nodded again. "Yeah!"

I smiled. Alexei was protective of his baby sister, a side effect of their background, I was sure. While Hope was too young to remember the place they'd been rescued from, I knew Alexei still had nightmares about it, even though he refused to talk to us about them. Part of his day at school on Tuesdays was spent in individual therapy and on Wednesdays he had group therapy with many of the kids that had been rescued.

The door to the coat closet opened, and Brielle slipped out.

"Good morning!" she chirped.

"Aunt Brielle!" Hope cheered, rushing into my great niece's open arms.

Brielle laughed and gave Hope a tight hug. "Good morning, Princess."

Maddie hid behind her mom's leg, nervous around such a powerful witch. Maddie hadn't been around magic and the supernatural as much as the other kids, despite her closeness to our family. Most of the other kids she knew were human, but Brielle dripped with so much magical energy it was even obvious to me.

Lydia and Alexei gave us parents quick hugs and went to wait by the door. I turned Hope to look at me, but before I could say anything, her tiny arms were around my neck. She was shaking slightly with nerves.

"It's going to be alright, my little love. You'll have lots of fun today, make new friends, and get to learn so much new stuff. I know that you'll love it," I assured her. Emmett was crouched next to us, running a comforting hand across Hope's back.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really."

She took a deep breath and pulled back, turning to hug Emmett. "Bye, Papa."

"Goodbye, Princess. I'll see you when you get home," he promised.

She looked back at me. "Bye, Mama. I'm gonna go to school now."

She and Maddie grabbed hands. In an absolutely adorable display, Lydia then grabbed Maddie's hand and Alexei grabbed Hope's. As Brielle opened the portal, the kids walked through in a single file line, though they kept their hands together, pulled each other along in a c

hain.

I sighed when they were all gone. Laura smiled. "I can't believe our babies are off to school. It'll be so strange not to have Maddie around. It feels like it was just yesterday that we all met at the park."

"I'll definitely miss having my littlest one around," I agreed.

After Laura and Alan left, Emmett and I went out for a hunting trip. We figured that it would be easier to go while the kids were both out of the house. The others would normally watch them while we were gone, but now that wasn't necessary. Not to mention, hunting would help us forget about our empty nest.

There was a strange emptiness in me the rest of the day and I could tell Emmett and Esme felt the same. I didn't see much of my mother, something I'd gotten used to over the past few years. Now, she'd retreated to her study to draft some options for the new house. We hadn't quite picked a location yet, as Alice saw several possibilities, but we'd be moving at the end of my siblings' school year. I was sad to leave this house, but as we did with many of our properties, we planned to hold onto it. The Clydes would help keep an eye on it, at Laura's insistence. She was capable of cleaning the whole place quickly with magic, so there would be no need for a cleaning crew.

Motherhood was in many ways more than I'd dreamed it could be. At the same time, there were challenges I'd underestimated. Still, I knew my family's future was bright, and that wouldn't change.