Elizabeth

“She looks smug," Reaper said to Alex. "Can't you do anything about that?"
"Me? What can I do?" Alex asked.
"Tell her it makes her look ridiculous."
"She doesn't look ridiculous," Alex scoffed. "She's more suited to smugness than you are. Every time you get that look on your face, I want to slap you."
"That's abuse, Alex, and not to be taken lightly," he said.
"Hush," she said.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.”
― Lynnie Purcell, The Elder

“She looked at Mad Rogan. "What did you do?"
Mad Rogan opened his mouth.
She turned to me. "What did he do?"
"He got hit by a car," I said.
The woman pivoted back to Mad Rogan. "Why in the world would you do a stupid thing like that?"
Mad Rogan opened his mouth again to say something.
"Don't you have an army of badasses to keep this exact thing from happening?"
"I..."
The woman turned to me. "What kind of car was it?"
"An armored Escalade," I said.
"Well, at least it was a nice car." She turned to Mad Rogan. "Who would want to ruin their nice car by hitting you with it?"
Mad Rogan sucked in a slow breath and let it out.
"Got you in the ribs, huh?" The woman waved. "Load both of them up."
"I can..." Mad Rogan started.
She pointed to a stretcher. "Down."
Mad Rogan lay down on the stretcher.”
― Ilona Andrews, Burn for Me

“Did you see the mailman while doing your rounds yesterday?"
Curran's face turned carefully blank. "Yes, I did."
"Did you do anything to scare him?"
"I was perfectly friendly."
"Mhm." Please continue with your nice story. Non-judgemental.
"He was putting things into the mailbox. I was passing by and I said, 'Hello, nice night.' And then I smiled. He jumped into his truck and slammed the door."
"Rude!" Julie volunteered.
"I let it pass," Curran said. "We're new to the neighborhood."
The former Beast Lord, a kind and magnanimous neighbor. "So you sneaked up behind him, startled him by speaking, and when he turned around and saw a six-hundred pound talking lion, you showed him your teeth?"
"I don't think that's what happened," Curran said.
"That's exactly what happened, Your Furriness." I laughed.”
― Ilona Andrews, Magic Shifts

“Sanders had seen death and emotional scarring in the eyes of a few. The people the Inkna had conquered looked at the world through a hollowed-out funnel of misery, but Sanders had never seen such turmoil and raw pain bleeding through the eyes of a emotionally desecrated soul. This man had clearly seen some shit, and it had torn his world out from under him. He wasn't an empty shell; he hadn't shut off to hid from the agony of his past. He's hardened it, sharpened it, and filed it down into a vicious killing edge that would slice right through an enemy three times his might.
Sanders glanced over to see Shanti helping someone to his feet.
...
Both of these had not only seen Hell, but had run out of it on fire. Within the green eyes staring at him, he could see that fire still burning, fueling his vengeance while eating him from the inside out.”
― K.F. Breene, Hunted