Love Letters and Thirst Tonics (Moonvale Matches Book 1)

1. Fiella

My day was perfectly normal until everything went haywire. I gulped down a mouthful of strange-flavored thirst tonic as I hustled to get ready for my day, one boot dangling from my grasp as I hopped around with the other boot unlaced.

I was running late. Again.

I glanced in the mirror and caught a glimpse of blue. I stopped short, hoping I was hallucinating. I reached toward my hair with shaking fingers. “Ugh, gods damn it!”

The thirst-reducing tonic I’d been drinking had once again been contaminated, and this time I’d wager it was with bluebells. The seasonal flowers were lovely, sure, but when combined with the magical properties of the tonic, they tended to cause strange side effects. Like blue hair, apparently.

The strands on my head were as blue as the afternoon sky. Brighter, even. They practically glowed.

At least the color suited my complexion well enough, and it would probably fade in a few weeks. Kizzi must have screwed up her potions again. I’d have to give her a piece of my mind the next time I saw her.

I was just relieved that the ache in my throat had been soothed.

As a vampire, even a half-blooded one, I’d been pestered by the incessant thirst for blood since I was a wee little thing. It was a pain in the ass, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle, as long as I kept purchasing those overpriced tonics from the apothecary shop in town, Kizzi’s.

Even though Kizzi was supposedly my best friend, she wouldn’t give me a discount. Traitor. The trinket-selling business was dreadful during the freeze season and my silver stash was uncomfortably light. I couldn’t seem to catch a break!

I usually tried to think positively, in a goblet-half-full kind of way, but it was getting harder and harder with every bump in the road.

My parents had moved away from Moonvale a few years ago to “travel the lands”, and their absence was a constant ache in my chest. I missed having them around.

Shit gets lonely around here.

I liked to think of myself as a badass, independent woman who didn’t need anyone, but gods. What’s a vampire gotta do to find someone to share a lavender blueberry cider and a few kisses with?

My cottage was a mess, as usual, but it was one of my happy places. I had moved into my haven as soon as I could afford to live on my own, and it had been the best decision of my life. It was small, but it was cozy, and it was mine. Every available space was filled with houseplants. I had a massive bookshelf filled with tomes covering the entire side wall, and I even had space for my personal collection of knick knacks. Trinkets filled every nook and cranny. It was delightful.

There was hardly room for a bed among all the wonderful clutter. My bed was more of a pallet, wedged in a corner, forgotten until it was time to catch some sleep. I didn’t usually pay it much mind.

I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself an interior decorator, but I knew a good trinket when I saw one.

I lovingly caressed the leaves of my purple ficus as I passed, making a mental note to wipe the dust off them later. That mental note would probably vanish as soon as I walked through the door, but it was the thought that counted. I was a good plant mom when I remembered to be.

I pulled my mess of blue hair back into a twist, tucked it under the hood of my cloak, and tromped towards town. The journey would only take a few minutes, but I was determined to escape the eyes of the locals. The human and non-human folk of Moonvale were used to my antics at this point, and it took a lot to surprise anyone, but this stylistic choice had been inflicted upon me against my will. So I chose to rebuke it.

My cottage was nestled into the edge of the Greenwood Forest, and I loved the privacy that the location granted me. Sure, neighbors were fine, but nothing was better than some peace and quiet. I meandered my way through the sparse trees on the forest’s border until my boots clacked on the stone walkway leading into town.

I took a deep breath, pulling crisp air into my lungs, relishing the morning. It smelled like greenery and living things. The best smell in all realms. Or maybe the best smell was fresh-baked berry tarts–it was a very close competition.

It was still the freeze season in Moonvale, though the beginning of the mild season was slowly creeping in. Most folk seemed to be indoors, much to my luck. The only living beings I passed that noticed me were the local critters. The chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the squeaking of rodents betrayed the presence of the small creatures that often scurried through town.

As was my daily ritual, I stopped by the bakery to pick up tea and a pastry on my way toward the town square. The bakery was always lively–packed to the brim with folk securing their warm beverages and snacks for the day. The scents wafting from the propped-open front door were divine, making mouths water and stomachs growl of any passersby.

I secured my bounty without any fuss, only receiving a few sideways glances that I could easily ignore. I avoided any unnecessary conversations just to be safe.

Raising my mug of tea to my lips, my fangs gently tapping against the pottery, I inhaled the sweet, earthy scent of herbs and berries as I let the hot liquid trickle into my mouth, only mildly scorching my flesh in the process.

There’s nothing better than hot tea on a chilly morning.

I picked up my pace and made my way over to Kizzi’s, deciding to visit my best friend and show her what her tonic had done to me before starting my own workday.

“Ooh! New look? I love it!!” Kizzi shouted when she caught a glimpse of my new cerulean strands, her bright green eyes flicking up to examine me. She set down her cauldron stirring rod, fixing her undivided attention on me for just a moment before she moved on to fussing with an assortment of baskets.

I glared at her. “Nope. This one’s on you, not me.” I pulled my hood back to reveal my hair in all its glory.

Her jaw dropped when she looked at me again. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” she whined. “I could’ve sworn I finally had everything sorted out! Those sprites must be breaking in after dark again. I am so sorry.”

The usually brightly tempered woman was frazzled, bouncing around the shop like she couldn’t find a place to settle. Her smock was dirty, hanging from her curvy figure like a sheet instead of accentuating her form like it usually did. Her olive hair hung limply over her shoulders.

Kizzi had been tormented by the local forest sprites for ages now. The troublemaking creatures wanted nothing more than to cause a little mischief. I didn’t know what she could’ve possibly done to earn the ire of the harmless woodland creatures, but they created problems for her at every opportunity.

“It’s alright, Kiz,” I mumbled bashfully, any frustration draining out of me immediately at my friend’s guilt. My desire for justice evaporated. “It gives me a bit of a striking quality, doesn’t it?” I was missing my caramel-colored strands desperately, but I didn’t want to make her feel worse than she already did.

Brightly colored hair wasn’t rare in Moonvale, nor was it frowned upon. I didn’t even dislike it, truly. I just didn’t appreciate it being inflicted upon me unexpectedly. I reached up to snag a piece that slipped free from its twist, twirling it around my finger.

Kizzi hesitated for a bit too long, and then blurted out, “of course it does! I couldn’t look away from you if I wanted to! You’re as hypnotizing as the moons.” She quickly turned around so I couldn’t see the expression on her face.

I sighed. Kizzi sure knew how to lay it on thick. I came here to give my best friend a lecture for her carelessness, but I couldn’t manage to stay mad at her.

“The sprites are giving you a hard time again?” I asked. “I thought they had finally moved on after you performed that ridiculous ritual and sang to them for four hours straight.” I hadn’t even been able to stay in the shop during that spectacle. I loved Kizzi but her voice was worse than a siren with a sore throat. She was an impressive natural witch, but her magic clearly didn’t spread to her vocal cords.

“I thought so, too,” she muttered with a glumness she couldn’t quite hide. “They only stayed away for a few weeks. I’ve done everything I can think of to shake them! They’re determined to ruin my life, for no gods damned reason! I must have angered the Old Gods somehow.”

I didn’t know why Kizzi bothered to acknowledge the Old Gods. They had abandoned our realm centuries ago, and I doubted they had even an inkling of an idea what was happening here now. They were surely long gone. All they had left behind was remnants of magic. Mere crumbs of what used to be.

“They better keep their grubby hands off of my thirst tonics,” I grumbled. “Those tonics are the only things keeping me from losing my mind and sinking my fangs into the locals.” There were quite a few vampires in Moonvale, and we all struggled with our thirst from time to time, but some of us needed pharmaceutical assistance more than others.

Drinking blood straight from the vein had become an outdated practice with all the magical and medicinal intervention that was now possible. It was taboo, or whatever those fussy old vampire elders said. Unsavory. Frowned upon.

Vampires could find sustenance from any type of blood, critter or creature, but the blood of other vampires was the most potent. It staved off the cravings for the longest. The blood of any folk, from orcs to elves and everywhere in between, could satisfy a craving for days. A week, if we were lucky. But we were encouraged not to indulge in that delicacy.

Not unless we were mated–or willing to risk being shamed. The side effects of drinking straight from the vein were often… uncontrollable. And inappropriate.

And extremely fun, with the right partner.

Thirst tonics certainly helped with the cravings. Most days, a juicy blood-infused cocktail was just as satisfying as a few gulps of blood fresh from a living being.

Or at least I told myself it was.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m doing my best, Fi,” Kizzi grumbled. Fi was a nickname that I didn’t allow freely. Only those who deserved it earned the chance to call me Fi. The rest of the realm called me Fiella. Or Miss Elmwick, if they were trying to sound fancy.

Kizzi had, like me, been suffering from the recent lack of tourism that the freeze season caused. All of the local businesses in Moonvale had. We depended on the folk of the entire realm, Aldova, to spend their silvers to keep us afloat.

The freeze season kept wanderers from other towns at bay, and only the warming of the air would bring flocks of visitors back again.

If folk couldn’t travel by river boat, then they had to trek the Barren Lands, and that was a whole miserable journey and a half. I couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to endure that.

Only the desperate ever risked it.

“If those little sprites keep giving you a hard time, let me know and I’ll come in here and give them a piece of my mind!” I insisted with as much wrath as I could muster. My willowy frame wasn’t that intimidating, but I liked to think that I could strike some fear into my enemies if I set my mind to it.

Kizzi cast a skeptical glance my way, which I tried not to be offended by. She didn’t know the ferocity I was capable of. I didn’t know either, to be fair, but I was sure it was buried down within me somewhere.

“Thanks, you badass vampire, but I’ll deal with it,” Kizzi stated, not very convincingly. “One of these days, I’ll figure out what their problem is.”

Our conversation was interrupted.

“Hello, uh… Is there any thirst tonic for sale here?” a deep voice boomed from across the room. I practically jumped out of my skin.

“Gods! The sprites must have stolen my door chime too,” Kizzi exclaimed with a hand pressed to her chest as if she could slow the pace of her heart with pressure alone.

I glanced over to see who had the audacity to interrupt this clearly important conversation. If they were intruding, they better at least be worth the diversion. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to bite into my pastry yet or tell Kizzi about the new book I had started reading!

My eyes landed on the figure by the front door.

Oh.

Oh.

Well, I certainly did not expect that.

The being in front of me could best be described as… vast. The man was massive, taller even than my lanky frame, which was a rarity around here. He was rugged as though he worked outside throughout all the seasons, and his skin was toasted to show it. His hair was luscious and tree-bark colored, and I had the strangest urge to walk up to him and run my hands through it.

Down, girl.

My daydreams came to an abrupt halt as soon as the handsome hunk opened his mouth again.

“Is anyone actually working here or are you two just going to stand there? I don’t know if you heard me, but I need a thirst tonic. I am really in a hurry here.”

My jaw dropped at his bluntness. How dare he. Coming into Kizzi’s shop and giving her attitude? Absolutely not. Luckily for Kizzi, her self-designated protector was here.

I was a monster before I had finished my morning tea and pastry, and I was already on edge. This man had no idea what he had just stumbled into.