Hide the Heart question

Hi there,
A small argument came up today during a casual game, so I'd like to sort it out and have a peace of mind in the future.
Here's the story:
Vampire A, with 2 blood, plays Reckless Agitation
Vampire B plays Hide the Heart at inferior val
Vampire A refuses to burn a blood as per HtH's text, so the action ends unsuccessfully.

Now the question is - does Vampire A still pay the cost of playing Reckless Agitation?

Quoting card text for reference:

Hide the Heart
Type: Reaction
Requires: Valeren / Auspex
[aus] Reduce a bleed against you by 1.
[val] The action ends (unsuccessfully). The acting minion may burn 1 blood to cancel this card as it is played. Only one Hide the Heart may be played at [val] each action.
[VAL] Reduce a bleed against you by 2, or tap to reduce a bleed against any Methuselah by 2.

Reckless Agitation
Type: Political Action
Requires: independent,capacity above 4
Cost: 2 blood
Requires an independent vampire with capacity above 4.
Allocate 6 points among two or more other Methuselahs. Successful referendum means each Methuselah burns 1 pool for each point assigned.

Thanks in advance.

You only pay the cost of an action if it is successful. So, no cost is paid.

jozxyqk wrote:

You only pay the cost of an action if it is successful. So, no cost is paid.

Correct. Rulebook 6.2 .