Maps, Artifacts, and Other Arcane Magic (Dowser Series Book 5) by Meghan Ciana Doidge

being serious and flirty at the same time.
    “The magic of the portal is golden, sixteenth century,” I snarked as I stepped by him. “You might want to dig deeper with the wooing.”
    “Is it?” he murmured behind me.
    I walked into the welcoming magic of the portal, reaching my hand back for Warner without turning. He linked his fingers loosely through mine. We didn’t need to touch to cross together into the nexus — I barely needed to think about my destination anymore — but I liked reaching out to him. I liked that he always responded in kind.

CHAPTER FIVE

    The magic of the portal buoyed me as I passed through it. However, I was pretty sure that what was really giving me the energy to walk away from my beloved bakery and pursue the crazy teenage dragon Shailaja was the handful of Inaya chocolate discs from Cacao Barry — a 65 percent blend of intense but balanced cocoa — that I crammed in my mouth as I’d crossed through the pantry.
    “Speaking of teenage dragons,” I said as Warner and I stepped through the door that connected the nexus to all the North American portals, not just to the bakery. “Watch out for Drake. He’s already snuck up on me once today.”
    “The fledgling takes his training very seriously. But he has yet to sneak up on me.” Warner grinned at me teasingly.
    I stuck my tongue out at him and his grin widened. I laughed, glancing around the gilded, columned rotunda that was the core of the guardian nexus, aka the transportation station. But with portals, not trains or buses or airplanes. The other eight intricately decorated doors were currently closed. No dragon in sight … or within reach of my dowser senses.
    Though Drake could still sneak up on me, the more time I spent in the nexus, the more I adapted to the overwhelming magic that dwelled here. I’d been wondering for a while now if the nexus was situated on the grid point portal of all grid point portals — the wellspring, perhaps — or whether it was simply that the residual magic from nine demigods left a brain-melting impression.
    “You know … speaking of teenagers —”
    “No,” Warner said, cutting off my foolhardy thought before I fully articulated it. “No to Drake. He doesn’t need any more encouragement. And I don’t wish to raise the ire of the fire breather.”
    “She might be thawing. See what I did there? Fire … thawing …”
    “No,” Warner repeated. “She’s beginning to think you’re useful. That’s not the same.”
    “I miss Kandy. You’re not as fun, Mr. Sentinel.”
    Warner grinned. “I’m not the same kind of fun.”
    I laughed but didn’t follow his flirty lead. I felt like a good portion of my attention and a hunk of my heart was still pulled back through the closed portal straight into the trashed bakery. “So this … brownie?”
    Warner thrust his hand into my satchel and pulled out the half-eaten Ritual Chocolate bar that I’d partially shared with Drake in the library.
    “Hey!” I yelled, instantly ready to wrestle him for it. Obviously, Gran’s containment spell didn’t protect against thieving dragons. Though she hadn’t promised that —  
    Warner tossed the bar over his shoulder like it was a piece of trash. I barely managed to stop myself from gouging his eyes out, and just ended up staring at him as if he’d gone completely bonkers instead.
    He winked at me.
    The bar disappeared from the pristine white marble floor.
    I stifled a scream of frustration over wasted chocolate. “I’ve seen that cleaning spell before.” I gritted the words out between clenched teeth, aware I had my hand resting on the invisible knife at my hip. Chocolate bar stealing wasn’t worth a gutting, but throwing away fantastic chocolate might be.
    “Mistress Winterbloom?” Warner called. “The warrior’s daughter has a request.”
    I gave him a look. It wasn’t a nice one. I was almost certain he was screwing with me. I hadn’t quite figured out his sense of humor