Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist

The Minwanabi plot to kill the Acoma military commander Keyoke and then force Mara into a campaign in the faraway desert lands of Dustari.

Through the eyes of her Midkemian slave Kevin of Zūn, she begins to see the flaws, contradictions, limitations and potential of the Tsurani Empire-and finds Kevin, a love like she has never known. Though challenging the norms of Tsurani society had served her well, Mara remains a product of her culture and does not question many of her beliefs and conventions. He enlists into this cause his cousin Tasaio, the cruel military genius who had managed to send Mara's father and brother to their deaths without breaking any laws or losing honor. Lord Desio of the Minwanabi, son of the defeated Lord Jingu, swears an unbreakable blood oath to the Red God of Death that he will destroy the Acoma or end his own bloodline. Having risen in wealth, power and social standing but still threatened by powerful enemies, Lady Mara of the Acoma is in as much danger as ever after her triumphs in Daughter of the Empire. After buying a group of Midkemian prisoners-of-war, she finds one of them-Kevin of Zūn-to be a great asset in her ongoing struggle for survival and power. In the world of Kelewan, Mara of the Acoma has now become an expert player in the Game of the Council through bloody political maneuvering.

Published in 1990, it is the second book in the Empire Trilogy, preceded by 1987's Daughter of the Empire and followed by Mistress of the Empire in 1992. Servant of the Empire is a fantasy novel by American writers Raymond E.

Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist