The Serpent's Heart
"You wear no ring, child. You're here because your father needed a border treaty, not because Logan chose you to stand beside him."
Veronica’s face flushed red with indignation. "He's still my fiancé—"
"A title isn't a patch," Mama Rosa interrupted, her voice dropping into a low, gravelly warning that echoed off the stone fireplace. She gestured sharply to Nellie, who sat calmly sipping her coffee. "You see Nellie here? Look at the leather cut she wears when she rides. It says Property of Bones. She earned her place through decades of loyalty, war, and survival."