'Even that,' Iris agreed. 'I am not a jealous woman. You could have her as a concubine, provided you were circumspect.'
'As a concubine!' Bink exploded.
She was unshaken. 'Because you would be married to me.'
Bink stared at her, aghast. 'Why should you want to marry a man with no magic?'
'So I could be Queen of Xanth,' she said evenly.
'Queen of Xanth! You'd have to marry the King.'
'Precisely.'
'But-'
'One of the quaint, archaic laws and customs of Xanth is that the nominal ruler must be male. Thus some perfectly capable magical females have been eliminated from consideration. Now the present King is old, senile, and without heir; it is time for a Queen. But first there must be a new King. That King could be you.'
'Me! I have no knowledge of governing.'
'Yes. You would naturally leave the dull details of government to me.'
Now at last it was coming clear. Iris wanted power. All she needed was a suitable figurehead, to get herself installed. One sufficiently talentless and naive to be readily managed. So he would never get delusions of actually being King. If he cooperated with her, he would be dependent on her. But it was a fair offer. It provided a viable alternative to exile, regardless of the state of his own magic.
This was the first time he had seen his magic infirmity as a potential asset. Iris did not want an independent man or legitimate citizen; she would have no lasting hold on that kind of person. She needed a magic cripple like him-because without her he would be nothing, not even a citizen.
That diminished the romantic aspect considerably. Reality always did seem to be less enticing than illusion. Yet his alternative was to plunge back into the wilderness on a mission he suspected was futile. His luck was already considerably overextended; his chances of even making it as far as the castle of the Magician Humfrey were not ideal, since he now had to trek through the fringe of the central wilderness. He would be a fool not to accept the offer of the Sorceress.
Iris was watching him intently. As he looked back at her, her gown flickered, becoming transparent. Illusion or not, it was a breathtaking sight. And what difference did it make if the flesh only seemed real? He had no doubt now of what she was offering on the immediate, personal level. She would be glad to prove how good she could make it, as she had with the meal. Because she needed his willing cooperation.
Really, it made sense. He could have citizenship and Sabrina, since obviously the Sorceress Queen would never betray that aspect
Sabrina. How would she feel about the arrangement? He knew. She would not buy it. Not for anything, not for an instant. Sabrina was very straitlaced about certain things, very proper in the forms.
'No,' he said aloud.
Iris's gown snapped opaque. 'No?' Suddenly she sounded like Wynne, when he had told that idiot girl she could not accompany him.
'I don't want to be King.'
Now Iris's voice was controlled, soft. 'You don't think I can do it?'
'I rather think you can. But it's not my sort of thing.'
'What is your sort of thing, Bink?'
'I just want to be on my way.'
'You want to be on your way,' she repeated, with great control. 'Why?'
'My fiance wouldn't like it if I-'
'She wouldn't like it!' Iris was working up a substantial head of steam, like the Gap dragon. 'What does she offer you that I cannot better a hundredfold?'
'Well, self-respect, for one thing,' Bink said. 'She wants me for myself, not to use me.'
'Nonsense. All women are the same inside. They differ only in appearance and talent. They all use men.'
'Maybe so. I'm sure you know more about that sort of thing than I do. But I have to be going now.'
Iris reached out a soft hand to restrain him. Her gown disappeared entirely. 'Why not stay the night? See what I can do for you? If you still want to go in the morning-'
Bink shook his head. 'I'm sure you could convince me overnight. So I have to go now.'
'Such candor!' she exclaimed ruefully. 'I could give you an experience like none you have imagined.'
In her artful nudity, she already stimulated his imagination far more than was comfortable. But he steeled himself. 'You could never give me back my integrity.'
'You idiot' she screamed, with a startling shift of attitude. 'I should have left you to the sea monsters.'
'They were illusions too,' he said. 'You set up the whole thing, to make me beholden to you. The
