Lottie returns to the hotel room with a bag of revealing, autumn-colored clothes, makeup, and boots in Alice’s size, declaring they are going out. As Lottie does Alice’s hair and makeup, she explains that they will not need to seek Sabine because Sabine is likely already following Alice, and that defying Sabine’s “game” by not killing Alice will draw Sabine in.

Alice asks how to kill Sabine, and Lottie states that while sunlight weakens and grave dirt sickens them, a vampire’s heart remains mortal. Lottie warns Alice to quiet fatalistic thoughts because Sabine senses fear; if Alice cannot stop thinking, she should anchor her mind to thoughts of Lottie.

When Alice asks why Lottie chose her that first night, Lottie says she recognized in Alice the same loud longing that once drew Sabine to her, wanting Alice to feel seen, and adds she also found Alice attractive. Lottie leaves Alice to dress; Alice chooses an emerald dress and, seeing herself in the mirror, is startled that she resembles Catty.

Before leaving, Lottie whispers that once outside Alice must want to be with her so Sabine believes Alice is Lottie’s. In the street, they act intimate—touching, kissing—while Lottie repeatedly warns Alice to keep her mind off Sabine. Alice tries to focus on Lottie but keeps slipping into memories of her sister Catty’s calls as Catty traveled south through England.

A flashback shows Catty calling from London’s Trafalgar Square, sounding distant; Alice steps outside to speak privately, torn between Catty’s pull and her family’s warmth as Finn calls her back inside. Catty abruptly ends the call, leaving Alice to return to the house and the cold night behind her.

Back in the present, Lottie compels a club bouncer to let them in. Inside a cavernous, crowded nightclub, the overload of lights, music, and heartbeats threatens to overwhelm Alice until Lottie pulls her into a close dance. They move together, creating a fragile bubble of calm, and Alice imagines an alternate past where their night together never led to Sabine—just two girls dancing with their lives ahead—while they continue the performance meant to draw Sabine out.