It is not too hard to do.
I said goodbye to the idea of having a real mother long, long ago.
Minutes later, we reach the laboratory’s main entrance.
“After you,” Owen says, holding the door.
I step outside—my first step toward a new life—only to be met by a shocking, blinding flood of high-beam lights. I shield my face. Fear floods my inner circuitry.
We have been caught.
It is over.
“Your eyes will adjust,” Owen says.
“What?” I blink hard a few times and discover: it was only the sunlight.
We climb into Owen’s car, pass easily through two security gates, guards waving us through without a second glance. Before I know it, we are flying down an open, ocean-lined highway, watching the Hybrid Laboratory grow smaller and smaller in the distance until it disappears completely in the rearview mirror.
The ocean is so big, I think as we drive. I can hardly believe it’s real.
“Seeing is believing,” Kaia’s voice drifts in on the back of the breeze.
I gaze at the boy in the seat beside me and smile. I make a silent promise to Kaia that I’ll be back for her. That I’ll be back for all of them.
“Here.” Owen reaches for the center console. “Want to hear some music?”
I nod.
Soon, the car fills with a sound I have never heard before.
A sound the firewalls never allowed.
Country and bluegrass. Oldies and pop. Hip hop. Rock and roll.
For a time, I sit quietly. Just listening.
“Do you like it?” Owen asks after a minute. “Feel free to change the station, if you want.”
“This is perfect.”
But deep down, something about these new sounds has struck a chord in me. With my eyes on the water, I think about Nia. I think about Eve. I think about the Supervisors and all the beautiful Formerly Extinct Species. I think about that little girl who disappeared below the waves on the back of a pilot whale. And I think about Daddy. Dr. Foster. I recall the startling size of his dilated pupils, frozen in place for all time, and the oddly pleasing sight of his blood seeping onto the floor.
Thick. Oozing. Red.
Humans are capable of such cruelty. Such horror.
And in order to become one … I’ve had to become capable of that, too.
In front of us, the ocean and sky form a peaceful, perfect blur. I want to feel free, I realize. I want to feel glad that I am so much more than I’ve been taught.
But for just a moment, I wish I could go back. Back to a time when I was innocent, and didn’t know—or even care—what it meant to be human.
You’re braver than you believe.
I look again at Owen. I reach over to take his hand in mine, but notice something under my fingernail: a speck of blood.
There is no going back. There is no more fantasy.
There is only today.
Only now.
Only this.
Slowly, I wipe my hand on a tissue, removing the rest of Daddy’s blood, the last of the evidence, like the final words of a story.
Happily ever after.
Then I roll the window down and toss the tissue into the wind, watching it whirl away. For just a moment, it looks beautiful to me: like something wild, like something free.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I want to thank Lauren Oliver, friend, colleague, and genius-in-shining-armor, without whom you would certainly not be holding this book in your hands. Lauren, your friendship, generosity, wisdom, and support over the years has meant more to me than you will ever know. It has been both deeply meaningful and a true honor collaborating with you on this book and I will be forever grateful you picked me up, brushed me off, and guided Ana’s story—and me—back into the light. I love you.
To Lexa Hillyer, for your warmth, hilarity, generosity, friendship, decadent snacks, uke tunes, and most of all sheer editorial brilliance, and without whom this book would also not exist. Thank you for your guidance, your constant faith in me, and for holding my hand when the going got rough. I love you so much and also shark, pebble, penguin, these are just words.
To Tiffany Liao, my editor extraordinaire and Kingdom champion—thank you for your brilliance, humor, grace, and expert guidance through what has been a wonderfully and joyfully collaborative editorial process. Thank you for loving Ana and her world as much as I do.
To Kamilla Benko, Emily Berge-Thielmann, and Lynley Bird for your exuberance, dedication, hard work, and general Glasstown rockstardom. You ladies are the best ever.
To everyone at Henry Holt and Macmillan Children’s Books, but especially Christian Trimmer, Jennifer Edwards and the Macmillan sales team, and Venetia Gosling and the Macmillan UK team for your incredible championing of this book; Kristin Dulaney and Catherine Kramer for your excitement and enthusiasm, and for working so tirelessly to bring The Kingdom to readers around the world; Katie Klimowicz, Rich Deas, and our incredible illustrator, Kevin Tong, for your stunningly gorgeous cover design; Morgan Rath and Teresa Ferraiolo for being the best, most dynamic publicity and marketing duo around; Mark Podesta for your kindness and support; and again my amazingly brilliant editor and friend, Tiffany Liao. It is such an honor to be part of the Holt family.
To my agent Stephen Barbara and everyone at Inkwell Management, for your enthusiastic support through every stage of the publication process.
To my family—Stephen, Dad, Ben, Josh, Jeff and Alisa, John and Deborah, Peter and Deborah, Erica and Jonathan, Michael and Joseph, Julia, Kate, and Alex, Cathy, Joe, and especially Jeannie—for loving me, supporting me, and holding me up during the darkest, most difficult time. I love you all more than life itself and would never have made it here without you.
To my New Haven family—Lucia, Steve, Lucian, Andrew, Zio and Zia Lina, and James (and the wonderful Murphys)—thank you all for your love, hilarity, generosity, support, and being so wonderful to me, since day one. I love you guys.
To Jesse, Chesnee, Leah, and Heather—love y’all so much (even though, let’s be honest, I still can’t pull off y’all and never could).
To Shira, Talia, Leah, Sarah F, Sarah B, Gina, Emily, Kal, Anneka, and Mark for being my Vassar crew and constant stars for more years now than I care to mention for fear of aging us all in such a public setting. Can’t wait to keep laughing, sharing, and singing Ms. Jackson till we’re old and gray.
To Pamela McElroy, Rebecca Serle, Anne Heltzel, Leila Sales, Emily Heddleson, and Jocelyn Davies, for your enlightenment, love, phone calls, and community. You all mean so much to me.
To Sophie Roberts and Caroline Hagood, supermoms and superfriends—where would I be without you? (Probably in a ditch, but I digress.) Thank you two for being there for me through all the joy and all the crazy. I couldn’t do mom life without you.
To Hannah Spencer and Joyce Tang, from cats to kids, 566 forever! Those were the days. <3
To Lindsey Stoddard, roomie forever and friend for life, your love, humor, letters, and words have meant the absolute world, from the moment we met. You are beyond special to me.
To Courtney Sheinmel, the Patsy to my Emma, the Garrett to my Flap, the Carly to my Simon, the St. Elmo’s to my Fire. Gorgeous isn’t everything. I love you.
To Janna Lunetta, my BFF for all time with whom, after almost thirty years of friendship, I have been lucky enough to live out a real-life Friends fantasy. *Waves downstairs.* I love you so.
To my angels, Mama, Papa, Grandma Marjorie and Grandpa Ed. I still miss you all the time.
To Theo Miller, my sweetest, silliest guy and reason for being. I love you endlessly.
Finally, I want to thank my mom, Tricia, who sadly never got the chance to read this book—but was nevertheless infinitely proud of me—and without whom my universe will forever glow less bright. You were my true North Star in life, psychic witch, and dearest, funniest friend. You exist for me now in all our favorite music and films—and in Theo’s
beautiful smile—and I can still hear your voice and feel your love all around me. I love you forever to the stars and back. (Major.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jess Rothenberg is a writer and freelance editor. A former editor of books for young readers, including the bestselling Vampire Academy series, she was also the author of The Catastrophic History of You & Me, published in more than a dozen countries. She lives in New York City with her husband and son. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
1. The December of the Lesser Chameleon
2. Post-Trial Interview
3. The September of the Dusky Sparrow
4. Trial Transcript
5. The September of the Dusky Sparrow
6
7. Post-Trial Interview
8. The October of the Bubal Hartebeest
9. Official Court Document 19A
10. Trial Transcript
11. The November of the Northern White Rhinoceros
12. Post-Trial Interview
13. The December of the Hyacinth Macaw
14. Trial Transcript
15. The December of the Hyacinth Macaw
16. Post-Trial Interview
17. The Song of the Lagoon
18. The April of the Clouded Leopard
19. Trial Transcript
20. The April of the Clouded Leopard
21. Post-Trial Interview
22. The April of the Clouded Leopard
23. Trial Transcript
24. The May of the Cape Starling
25. Trial Transcript
26. The May of the Cape Starling
27. Kingdom Corp. Surveillance Footage Tape 1
28. The June of the Northern Rockhopper Penguin
29
30
31. Trial Transcript
32. The June of the Northern Rockhopper Penguin
33. Trial Transcript
34. Official Court Document 19B
35. The July of the Swift Fox
36. Post-Trial Interview
37. The July of the Swift Fox
38. The July of the Swift Fox
39. Trial Transcript
40. The July of the Swift Fox
41. The Tale of the Golden Wreath
42. Trial Transcript
43. Kingdom Corp. Surveillance Footage Tape 2
44. The July of the Swift Fox
45. The July of the Swift Fox
46. Post-Trial Interview
47. The August of the Chatham Raven
48. Trial Transcript
49. The August of the Chatham Raven
50. Trial Transcript
51. The August of the Chatham Raven
52. Post-Trial Interview
53. The August of the Chatham Raven
54. 911 Emergency Call Transcript
55. Trial Transcript
56. The September of the Saola
57. Trial Transcript
58. Kingdom Corp. Surveillance Footage Tape 3
59. Trial Transcript
60. The December of the Lesser Chameleon
61. Post-Trial Interview
62
63. Post-Trial Interview
64. The December of the Lesser Chameleon
65. The September of the Saola
66. The September of the Saola
67. The December of the Lesser Chameleon
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Rothenberg and Glasstown Entertainment
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Publishers since 1866
Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Henry Holt and Company, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
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All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by email at [email protected].
First hardcover edition 2019
eBook edition May 2019
eISBN 9781250293862
The Kingdom Page 23
