Em (Diversify Your Shelf)

“Rosethorn had gone to her room the moment Niko started to cough. Now she returned with her syrup and a firm look in her eye. "I thought you were having trouble last night. Drink this." She poured some into a cup and held it out to him.

Niko looked at it as if she offered him rotten fish. "I am fine. I am per-" He couldn't even finish the sentence for coughing.

"It's not bad," said Tris, crossing her fingers behind her back. "Really, tastes like-like mangoes."

Niko looked at her, then took the cup and downed its contents. The four watched with interest as his cheeks turned pale, then scarlet. "That's terrible (exclamation point)" he cried, his voice a thin squeak.

"Maybe I was thinking of some other syrup," Tris remarked with a straight face.”
― Tamora Pierce, Daja's Book

“Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.”
― Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

“Every now and then I like to do as I'm told, just to confuse people.”
― Tamora Pierce, Melting Stones

“Threats are the last resort of a man with no vocabulary.”
― Tamora Pierce, Lady Knight