Both Uses of

recoil

in

The Titan's Curse

...the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled.
Chpt 10 *

Definition:

to move backward suddenly (sometimes figuratively)

especially:

the backward jerk of a gun or cannon when it is fired
when a person flinches (suddenly draws back) from someone or something, as with fear, disgust, or pain
when a person is emotionally repulsed, as by disgust
when something intended to go in one direction figuratively falls back in the opposite direction; for example, a story told to hurt someone that comes back to hurt the teller