New York : Del Rey/Ballantine Books, 2011 (hardcover published 2010).
Kieri Phelan, the former Duke and soon to be crowned King of Lyonya, has a new challenge in ruling a human and elven kingdom and convincing his Council that they need to have a protective army for defense. His former captains, Arcolin and Dorrin Verrakai, have challenges of their own as Arcolin takes over the Duke's mercenary company and Dorrin returns to her estranged family's holding as the new Duke Verrakai.
Though Oath of Fealty begins with events soon after the end of Oath of Gold in Paksennarion's trilogy, this book could also be read as a standalone and the beginning of the new series. As such, it is less focused on Paks (though she's still a character) than on Phelan, Arcolin, and Dorrin as well as political events between Tsaia, Lyonya, and Pargun. The various events involving the Verrakai betrayal and companies of bandits clearly have an underlying link that apparently have some connection to the former pirate, Alured, a much bigger conspiracy than anyone first guessed. I really enjoyed returning to Paks' world, and enjoyed getting to know some of the characters better who had been more minor, especially Dorrin. She's the one good out of a pretty rotten family, and often questions herself and her motives while she tries her best, very believably a mix of doubt and action. I hope I won't wait so long before reading the next book in the series.
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