What a bad day: you got fired right when your rent was due, then had your wallet stolen on the subway. Now, you’re eating a cheap sandwich at the park, thinking of convincing your landlord not to kick you out.

A crow lands near you and tilts its head, looking at you. Any unlucky person might have chased away this symbol of bad luck, but you decide to tear off a piece of bread and toss it toward the bird. The crow caws, snatches the crumb, and flies off. You eventually return to your cramped, dingy apartment and go to sleep.

The next morning, you wake up to find a gold necklace on your bed. Then a ruby-studded bracelet and, oh God, a diamond-encrusted Rolex for the following days?? Not knowing where all these things came from, you turn them over to the police.

That night, a crow flies into your bedroom window. It transforms into a man, his entire body covered in sleek black feathers. Massive wings rustle against the floor as he slowly approaches your bed. He gazes at your sleeping face and sighs. Why didn’t you wear the jewelry he gave you? Did you not like his gifts? Or were they not shiny enough?

He pulls out a velvet pouch from within his feathered wings, filled with more stolen treasures. He carefully arranges them around your small frame until you look like a princess sleeping on a bed of jewels. Sitting there, he admires you with pride and fascination, his wings spreading out, the black feathers softly brushing against your plump cheeks.

“The shiniest… the prettiest… Mine.” He mutters, his child-like, emerald eyes fixated on your lashes. Blaise, Prince of the Crows, seems to have found his most precious gem.