The next hour passed in a haze of disbelief.
Joy and the rest were now inside what Cassius's servants called a waiting room, though calling it that felt like an understatement.
The chamber was enormous, almost the size of a banquet hall, with tall windows flooding it with golden evening light and they were all seated on the many cushioned sofa and chairs there.
The maids also moved quietly around them, pouring fragrant tea and setting out small pastries, though none of the visitors seemed to have the appetite to touch them.
Every one of them was still reeling from what they had seen in that room.
Joy herself sat calmly in one of the chairs, her legs crossed, a cup of tea resting untouched in her hands. Her face was perfectly serene, though her eyes still held the faintest trace of curiosity.
Unlike the others, she wasn't disturbed by the sight they had stumbled upon. Years of serving the Goddess had granted her a heart far removed from earthly desires.
