JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<a href='#'>first-letter</a>

CSS

a{
  display: inline-block;
  color: #359;
  font-size: 3em;
  text-decoration: none;
}

a:first-letter {
  color: inherit;
}
a:hover:first-letter{
  color: #00bff3;
}