Destiny by Maggie Shayne is the third of her Immortal Witches series and is the story of Nidaba and Eannatum two ancient Immortal High Witches who are now about to be reunited in the modern world.

Nidaba, readers of Infinity will recall, is the mother of Nicodimus and her story begins after her fall from a high building.  Taken by an ambulance she is dead but revives in the ambulance, to the shock of the medical professionals with her.  Becoming violent in her efforts to escape Nidaba is unsuccessful and finds herself injected with drugs to calm her.  Unfortunately as an immortal High Witch she has a bad reaction to the drugs and finds herself locked up in a mental institute.

A Jane Doe with no past.  Nidaba's picture is all the papers as the authorities try to find out who she is.  Nathan King sees her picture in the paper and recognises the face as being that of the woman he had loved back in ancient Sumer when he was Eannatum.  A woman he had been told died in an accidental fire along with her young son.

Breaking into the mental institute Nathan rescues Nidaba and brings her to his home where he hopes that she will recover and remember him.  He does not expect her to look on him with hatred burning in her eyes.

Told in a series of flashbacks from both Nathan and Nidaba the reader is drawn into the ancient lands of Sumer where a young orphan girl named for the goddess Nidaba finds a friend in the young prince Eannatum (Natum).  Drawn together by loneliness they gradually learn how to use the powers they have and as they grow older their friendship blossoms into love.

But they are from different worlds and Natum has been promised in marriage to Puabi, a spoilt princess of a neighbouring kingdom.  Their marriage will unite the kingdoms and bring an end to many of the problems of the country.  But even so Natum is young and in love and would do anything to make Nidaba his bride instead. 

Things are not to be and they are separated by the king who can see the danger of their love. 

Reunited briefly after Nidaba has become a Priestess and is no longer able to marry him, Natum knows that he must do as Nidaba says, marry Puabi and unite the kingdoms. 

Nidaba then finds herself in the position of becoming the mistress of the new king and ensuring the everlasting hatred of the queen. 

Fleeing for her life and that of her son she runs away and hopes to start a new life.  But Natum does not want to lose her and sends his men to find her and bring her back to him.  But betrayal and tragedy strike and Nidaba's young son dies saving her life (which is how he came to be reborn an Immortal High Witch himself of course).  Believing that her lover wants her dead she runs again and the love that she feels for him turns to hatred.

As Nathan and Nidaba recall their past and start to discover the truth of the events which transpired all those centuries ago, the danger which tore them apart before draws ever closer in the form of an immortal Dark Witch who will do anything to destroy them.

This book is by far my favourite in the series.  The past is brought to life wonderfully and the main characters are both engaging and likeable.  Powerful and moving this is a spellbinding addition to the series.

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Also by Maggie Shayne :   Everything She Does is Magick,  Eternity, Infinity and Immortality.

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