No one spoke. The noise from moments ago had drained out of the air, leaving behind something heavier. Something final. Arjun stepped closer to the barrier, his hands gripping the metal so tightly his knuckles turned pale. He forced himself to look. Really look. The lioness hadn’t moved.
She stood in the same spot, head lowered, her posture steady and controlled. The other lions lingered at a distance now, pacing slowly, watching but not daring to approach. Arjun had seen this before. After a hunt. After a claim. His chest tightened. “No…” someone whispered behind him. Another voice followed, softer.
“Is it… over?” No one answered. Because no one wanted to be the one to say it out loud. Arjun’s eyes searched the ground near her feet. The dust had settled completely now. The tree stood still. The space was clear. Too clear. There was nothing there.
No movement. No sound. No sign. And that silence felt louder than anything that had come before.