Bella Burrows's Arc

Chapter 9 of 9

The cottage door banged open. Sara walked back out with a crate on her hip and a flat look on her face. She set the crate down hard between Bella and the fountain. Bottles of fizzy soda clinked inside it, bright labels showing through the slats. A plate of salted bread sat on top. Sara pulled a bottle free, popped the cap on the fountain rim, and drank half of it standing up. She did not look at Aldric. She looked at Bella. "Again," Sara said. "Properly this time." Aldric stood up between them. He pulled a flat metal disc from his pack and set it on the grass. Rings of soft light bloomed across its face. He stepped onto it, faced both women, and folded his arms. "Judge," he said. "No cheating. No potions left. Just bellies." He pointed at the crate. "Drink from there. Burp at me. Loudest count wins." Then he lifted a tall crystal spike from beside the fountain and planted it at the edge of his platform. Purple veins pulsed inside the glass. "Winner takes the trophy. Loser walks home." Bella's belly was already huge from the potion. Sara's was bigger from whatever Aldric had been feeding her all morning. They squared up on either side of the half-elf with the lit disc humming under his boots. Bella grabbed a bottle and drank it down in four swallows. Sara matched her, then took a second. Bella tore into the bread, chewed twice, swallowed thick. Her stomach pushed harder against her shirt. The first burp ripped out of her low and long. Aldric ticked his finger in the air. One. Sara fired back, louder. He ticked again. One. They traded burps across him for what felt like an hour. Bella lost count somewhere past twenty, the way she did on her best afternoons at home. Sara's purple skin shone with sweat. Aldric kept ticking, eyes moving from one belly to the other, hands twitching at his sides like he wanted to reach for both at once. Bella drank another bottle. Her belly hurt now, tight and hot. She braced her hands under it, closed her eyes, and waited. The burp came up slow and broke out of her so loud the crystal trophy rang. Aldric flinched. Sara opened her mouth and nothing came. She swallowed. Tried again. A small sound, thin as a child's. "Bella," Aldric said. He stepped off the disc. He picked up the trophy and put it in her hands. The glass was warm. The veins pulsed against her palms. Sara wiped her mouth and looked at the crate. "Keep it," she said. She walked past Bella toward the trees. At the edge of the clearing she stopped and turned. "He counts," she said. "He doesn't stay. Ask the last one." Then she was gone. Aldric was already kneeling, both hands flat on Bella's belly, waiting for the next one.