At night, Venice erupts into the revelry of Carnevale, and Sabine attends the festivities at Piazza San Marco with Matteo and Alessandro, all masked like different birds. Overwhelmed by abundance and her hunger, Sabine follows Matteo into an elite ball at the Palazzo Ducale. There, Matteo proposes a game: each selects a prey to stalk and seduce but must not kill until Lent, promising to teach Sabine how to claim territory if she succeeds. He argues restraint is possible and necessary, asserting, “We need less than we think.”

Sabine resists the idea but is drawn in by the prize and her pride. She and Matteo each choose a target: Matteo selects a broad-shouldered, square-jawed man with gray-shot hair; Sabine chooses a curvaceous woman with a white mask adorned with a gilded lily and cascading black curls. Determined to win, Sabine begins to watch rather than strike, knowing nine nights remain until Lent.

It takes three nights for Sabine to relocate the gilded lily amid the crowds. Her hunger intensifies, described as a constant, rising beat and an absence in her chest. She studies the woman’s habits—how she sips wine, stands rapt before performances, and remains socially apart—and follows her when she leaves just after midnight. A drunken group blocks Sabine’s pursuit, and the woman slips into a house, forcing Sabine to withdraw and return to Matteo’s home alone.

On the fourth night, Sabine skips the larger celebrations and waits on the same street. Near midnight, the woman emerges alone. Sabine feigns a broken shoe to engineer an encounter, and the woman stops to help, admiring Sabine’s hair and even inviting her inside to replace the shoe. Sabine nearly breaks, overwhelmed by thirst and proximity, but refuses out of stubbornness and fear that Matteo will learn of her failure, and she declines the invitation, parting politely.

Sabine dreams of her prey and wakes even hungrier, then examines herself in a mirror, expecting signs of decay. She finds none: her appearance remains unchanged despite the days without blood. The realization underscores Matteo’s claim that vampires need less than they desire, at least physically.

Meanwhile, Matteo pursues his own quarry and, to keep the contest fair, abstains from Alessandro’s blood. Alessandro’s color returns but his mood sours; he cannot paint, and Matteo avoids his bed to limit temptation. The tension erupts in slammed doors and curt exchanges, prompting Sabine to quip that Alessandro seems like the one starving while Matteo insists that control requires knowing and avoiding one’s limits.