By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Michelle Hercules

The impossible has happened. I became the thing that I’ve hated my entire life. Thanks to Bryce’s gift, I’m now an Idol. But I no longer want to see them all destroyed. Thanks to Bryce, Rufio, Morpheus, and Phoenix, the four powerful Idols I’ve fallen in love with, I realize I can’t blame an entire race for the evil doings of a minority.

Being an Idol doesn’t make my existence easier, though. On the contrary, thanks to the rare gift I’ve developed, I’m now wanted dead or alive. Some want to use me as weapon; others want me gone forever.

We’re living in dangerous times, and the only Idols I can trust are my boyfriends. But we need allies because war is coming and we can’t fight in it alone.

At the end of the last book Daisy discovers she’s not a Norm at all. This appears to have something to do with the healing Bryce has done on her and her heritage. She’s freed Phoenix from his father, and now there are all sorts of implications. Some with the Knights, some with the Neo Gods, and even more things to be discovered. Her heritage is frightening to her, it seems the power that Bryce’s healing has unlocked, is the power to unmake idols.

One of the first crazy things that happens at school is Drusilla going nuts, and Bryce and Rufio trying to stop her. Somehow Drusilla’s powers have become such that she was able to use her compulsion on Rufio. This ends in her demise. Now the problem is how to save Rufio from a death sentence. While Bryce and their mother do what they can the eyewitness accounts are still a threat. The penalty Rufio and Bryce will both pay is the beginning of their initiation into the Neo Gods.

Then we have Toby who’s panicking because he now has powers, the necklace he used to pretend he was a fringe is gone and he’s afraid of what Rosie will think.

It gets a lot worse for poor Rosie as she realizes her sister is now and Idol and totally freaks out.

We have interaction with Mr. X aka Xavier, Daisy’s uncle. He was with Mr. Silverstone when Phoenix’s father was taken care of and he’s trying to help Daisy come to terms with everything. Well sort of.

Now she’s broken Morpheus’ bracelets so he has to control his powers on his own. A very interesting development which he confesses not only to Daisy but also Bryce, Rufio and Phoenix.

Bryce takes a chance with Daisy and the morning after that very hot encounter is when Morpheus confesses his biological father.

This is one of my favorite scenes.

“Come on. We do need to talk. You haven’t told us where your father took you and Rufio yesterday.”

The amusement vanishes from Bryce’s eyes. He sits up as well, throwing his legs to the side of the bed and giving his back to me. “You heard what your uncle said. I can’t tell you.”

I nibble on my lower lip. Xavier was adamant that Bryce and Rufio keep the information to themselves. He seemed to know exactly where they had been, but if that’s true, why the secrecy?

“Since when do you trust my uncle?” I ask.

Bryce looks over his shoulder. “I don’t trust him, but considering our options, he’s the one I feel is least likely to betray us.”

I break eye contact, letting my shoulders sag forward. “I’d like to say you can trust him, but I can’t. But I think he does care about me, and that’s saying something.”

Bryce places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “At least he’s family.”

I snort. “Yeah, family. There’s something you need to know about Xavier.”

“What is it?”

I turn, looking Bryce straight in the eye. “He’s a Morph.” His eyes widen a little. “Really? I’ve never met a Morph before.”

“Wow. Like never?”

“No. Morphs are super rare nowadays.”

“Why is that?”

“They were perceived as extremely dangerous individuals. Think about it, Daisy. They have the ability to change their appearance. So a little over a hundred years ago, they were hunted down like animals.”

I feel the blood drain from my face. That information was missing from Dad’s diary. He must have known Xavier was a Morph, right? Maybe that’s why Dad didn’t go into detail about them for fear the wrong people would find out about Xavier’s ability.

“I didn’t know that,” I finally reply.

“Thanks for telling me. And don’t worry, we’ll keep this information between us.”

A loud knock on the door is followed by Rufio’s voice, “Daisy, are you up?”

I look down at the sheets covering my naked body and sigh. “Yeah, I’m up. Hold on.”

“I can get the door while you change,” Bryce says.

“Thanks. I’m going to hop in the shower.” I bolt to the bathroom, locking the door behind me. It’s not until I’m under the hot water that I remember I didn’t bring any clothes with me. Great. I’ll have to face Rufio, Phoenix, and Morpheus wearing only a towel.

What’s the big deal, Daisy? Most of them have seen you naked already.

Shut up, slut.

When I return to my room, the guys are each standing in a different corner, and the atmosphere is a little heavy.

“What’s going on?”

No one answers with words, only discontent grumbles. Bryce stares at the others and shakes his head. “They’re a little upset that I spent the night with you.”

“We’re not upset about that,” Rufio retorts.

“You could have fooled me.” Bryce shrugs.

While Rufio is busy glaring at his brother, I try to find the answer in Phoenix’s and Morpheus’s gazes, but Phoenix purposefully looks at the floor, shutting me out. When I glance at Morpheus, I feel guilty, and I don’t know why.

“Rufio and Phoenix are mad because we woke them up with the noise.”

My face bursts into flames. “Oh my God. You heard us?”

“You weren’t even trying to keep it quiet,” Rufio replies, exasperated, and points at Bryce. “Next time you decide to have a midnight rendezvous, you’d better tell me so I can come too.”

“What?” I squeak, clutching my towel tighter.

Phoenix finally raises his eyes to mine. “Oh look. Daisy is blushing.”

There’s no warmth in his comment, and his gaze is as hard as stone.

“I take it that you learned to control your powers,” Morpheus says.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Cool. Let’s test it out.” Rufio strides in my direction, and I become tense in an instant. Maybe it’s because once again, the guys just caught me post-sex. Or it could be that I’m involved with all four and don’t yet know how to handle it.

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

His eyes drop to my lips, and my stomach coils tightly. Is he going to kiss me in front of the others? He takes my hand instead and places it on the center of his chest. Automatically, my power flares up. Damn it. I thought I’d learned to control it.

Rufio twists his face into a grimace and grunts.

“No!” I yank my hand back.

He bends over, wheezing. “Fuck. That was intense.”

“I don’t understand. I was able to stop stripping Bryce’s powers yesterday. Why did it not work with you?

Bryce is staring hard at his brother, and I can almost see the gears whirring in his head.

“It’s possible it has to do with your power scale,” Phoenix supplies. “You’re packing juice, Daisy. You’re probably a level seventeen.”

“Which means what?”

Bryce rubs his face. “It means that maybe you didn’t stop taking. Maybe I blocked you.”

Disappointment washes over me. I really thought I was starting to get a grip on this strange gift I didn’t ask for.

“We’ll keep practicing,” Bryce adds.

“She won’t progress if she practices with you,” Morpheus interjects. “You’ll keep blocking her, and she’ll never learn to master her powers herself.”

“You don’t know that. I can stop blocking her,” Bryce rebuffs, frowning.

Morpheus shakes his head. “No, you can’t. Survival instinct will override your wishes.”

“Well, I guess you’ll have to keep practicing with the rest of us,” Phoenix says.

“No, I can’t. The chance that I’ll unmake you before I learn to control my gift is too great.”

“There’s gotta be a way, Daisy. I can’t not touch you forever,” Phoenix replies, surprising me. I thought he was angry with me.

“I’ll help her,” Morpheus announces.

“She’ll suck you dry too,” Rufio retorts, making me wince. Once again, the image of a succubus comes to mind.

“I know!” Phoenix snaps his fingers. “We’ll round up all the nasty Idols in this school and use them as practice. If Daisy accidentally unmakes them, too bad.”

Bryce and Rufio stare at him like he’s lost his mind.

“I don’t think your solution is practical, even if it has merit,” Morpheus replies. “And no, Daisy won’t suck me dry like you fear.”

“Why is that?” Bryce raises an eyebrow.

Morpheus glances at me, and I see it then. He’s going to tell them the truth.

With a deep breath, he says, “I’m not a level fifteen as I was led to believe. You see, the bracelets I’ve worn since I was a boy not only kept my shadows contained but also dimmed my powers.” Morpheus closes his eyes, and a moment later, a surge of energy sprouts from his chest, spreading throughout his body. The shadows manifest, but Morpheus is in control of them.

“Holy shit!” Phoenix yells.

“You’re a level eighteen? How is that possible?” Rufio asks, staring at his friend like he’s never seen him before.

Bryce moves closer to Morpheus, stopping in front of him. “Mr. Malek isn’t your real father, is he?”

“No. My biological father was a demigod.”

“I’ll be damned.” Rufio walks to my window. “You were an eighteen all this time and didn’t know.”

“And we should keep it that way,” Bryce says. “It’s bad enough our mother and the Knights know about Daisy.”

“I can keep my powers on the down-low.” Morpheus shrugs.

“You’re not even wearing your bracelets anymore. When did that happen?” Phoenix asks.

Morpheus and I trade glances, but I answer in the end. “I broke his bracelets by accident.”

“How could you… oh, I see.” Phoenix stares at Morpheus intently.
Hercules, Michelle. Hateful Heroes: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 3). Kindle Locations (1575-1639). Infinite Sky Publishing. Kindle Edition.

I keep waiting for things to get better, but these people have agendas so it seems chaos is the norm. The principal of the school Jodie Fallon who is also Bryce and Rufio’s mother has some really crazy plans for Daisy and Bryce. The first comes in the form of a trip to the Annual Interschool Academic Tournament at Paragon Academy in Hawk City. This is really just an excuse for the assignment she’s giving Daisy.

We meet an interesting character here, Andromeda is an Idol but she’s blind. That’s unusual in an Idol. We also run into Stephen and Soren Silverstone and get to see their Dad as well.

So many surprises, so much action and suspense plus another OMG ending.

Already reading the next book in this series.

5 Contented Purrs for Michelle!

Michelle Hercules

USA Today bestselling author Michelle Hercules always knew creative arts were her calling but not in a million years did she think she would write a novel. With a background in fashion design she thought she would follow that path. But one day, out of the blue, she had an idea for a book. One page turned into ten pages, ten pages turned into a hundred, and before she knew, her first book, The Prophecy of Arcadia, was born. Michelle Hercules resides in The Netherlands with her husband and daughter.