"What, an animal girl failed to love a handsome human prince? How could she!"

Dolph realized that she was being sarcastic, demonfashion, but he ignored it. It helped him just to describe the situation. "She was beautiful herself, and a princess too, and half human. But she is five years older. To her I was just a child. So she couldn't love me."

"That's easy to solve. Just have her drink from a love spring in your presence."

"Yes, when I many her next week she'll do that. But there's something else."

"You are full of surprises, Prince!" But the edge of her sarcasm was not as sharp; she was curious.

They completed the Region of Earth and floated into the next, the Region of Fire, which was surrounded by a tall wall of fire. Within the region flames reached hungrily for the sky, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't burn up the sky, quite. But the trees below were having a difficult time of it.

This search, too, was dull. So when the demoness floating beside him through the flames inquired about the something else, he answered.

"I have a second Betrothee."

"Now that I believe is unusual for your kind. We demons have no limits about such things—in fact we have no betrothals or marriages, we just do what comes unnaturally. But I never heard of a human man marrying two women." She considered. "In Xanth, I mean. They do it in Mundania, though usually one at a time. But that doesn't count. Mundanes are crazy."

"I don't know. Grey Murphy's Mundane, and he's not crazy."

"He's not in Mundania, now, either. He must have straightened out when he entered Xanth."

"That must explain it," he agreed. It did make sense. "Anyway, she had been fouled up by Magician Murphy's spell, long ago, and was sleeping in a coffin on the Isle of View."

"I love you too, Prince," Metria said. "Because you are a cylinder of laughs. But—"

"What?"

"A drum, round container—" "Barrel. But I mean, I thought demonesses didn't love. So how—"

"We love to torment folk, and you are nicely tormentable. But you said it first."

"I did not! I was telling about the coffin on—oops."

"Yes, that's where, out of nowhere, you said you loved me. If that's what you did with that sleeping girl, I can see how you got in trouble."

"It's the island of V-I-E-W," he said, spelling it. He had learned to spell from his mother, who had absolutely refused to let his father teach him, for some reason. Irene was funny about such things as spelling and panties and marriages. "That's its name."

Metria made a moue. "You mean you don't love me?"

"That's right. I love Nada, and only her."

"Too bad. It's much easier to torment one who loves you. Well, maybe you'll love me when I show you how to summon the stork. It's been known to happen."

"You mean the stork has something to do with love?" he asked, amazed.