diff --git a/src/Subscription/Engine/DefaultMessageLoader.php b/src/Subscription/Engine/DefaultMessageLoader.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87c53978
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Subscription/Engine/DefaultMessageLoader.php
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine;
+
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\Criteria;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\FromIndexCriterion;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Store;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Stream;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscription;
+
+final class DefaultMessageLoader implements MessageLoader
+{
+    public function __construct(
+        private readonly Store $store,
+    ) {
+    }
+
+    /** @param list<Subscription> $subscriptions */
+    public function load(int $startIndex, array $subscriptions): Stream
+    {
+        return $this->store->load(new Criteria(new FromIndexCriterion($startIndex)));
+    }
+
+    public function lastIndex(): int
+    {
+        $stream = $this->store->load(null, 1, null, true);
+
+        return $stream->index() ?: 0;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Subscription/Engine/DefaultSubscriptionEngine.php b/src/Subscription/Engine/DefaultSubscriptionEngine.php
index 2f7ca666..2f83f978 100644
--- a/src/Subscription/Engine/DefaultSubscriptionEngine.php
+++ b/src/Subscription/Engine/DefaultSubscriptionEngine.php
@@ -5,10 +5,6 @@
 namespace Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine;
 
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Message\Message;
-use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Metadata\Event\EventMetadataFactory;
-use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\Criteria;
-use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\EventsCriterion;
-use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\FromIndexCriterion;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Store;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\RetryStrategy\ClockBasedRetryStrategy;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\RetryStrategy\RetryStrategy;
@@ -17,7 +13,6 @@
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Store\SubscriptionCriteria;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Store\SubscriptionStore;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\BatchableSubscriber;
-use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\MetadataSubscriberAccessor;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\RealSubscriberAccessor;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\SubscriberAccessor;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\SubscriberAccessorRepository;
@@ -25,7 +20,6 @@
 use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;
 use Throwable;
 
-use function array_keys;
 use function count;
 use function in_array;
 use function sprintf;
@@ -39,14 +33,21 @@ final class DefaultSubscriptionEngine implements SubscriptionEngine
     /** @var array<string, BatchableSubscriber> */
     private array $batching = [];
 
+    private readonly MessageLoader $messageLoader;
+
     public function __construct(
-        private readonly Store $messageStore,
+        Store|MessageLoader $messageStore,
         SubscriptionStore $subscriptionStore,
         private readonly SubscriberAccessorRepository $subscriberRepository,
         private readonly RetryStrategy $retryStrategy = new ClockBasedRetryStrategy(),
         private readonly LoggerInterface|null $logger = null,
-        private readonly EventMetadataFactory|null $eventMetadataFactory = null,
     ) {
+        if ($messageStore instanceof MessageLoader) {
+            $this->messageLoader = $messageStore;
+        } else {
+            $this->messageLoader = new DefaultMessageLoader($messageStore);
+        }
+
         $this->subscriptionManager = new SubscriptionManager($subscriptionStore);
     }
 
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ function (array $subscriptions) use ($skipBooting): Result {
                 /** @var list<Error> $errors */
                 $errors = [];
 
-                $latestIndex = $this->latestIndex();
+                $latestIndex = $this->messageLoader->lastIndex();
 
                 foreach ($subscriptions as $subscription) {
                     $subscriber = $this->subscriber($subscription->id());
@@ -198,15 +199,7 @@ function ($subscriptions) use ($limit): ProcessedResult {
                     $messageCounter = 0;
 
                     try {
-                        $criteria = new Criteria(new FromIndexCriterion($startIndex));
-
-                        $events = $this->events($subscriptions);
-
-                        if ($events) {
-                            $criteria = $criteria->add(new EventsCriterion($events));
-                        }
-
-                        $stream = $this->messageStore->load($criteria);
+                        $stream = $this->messageLoader->load($startIndex, $subscriptions);
 
                         foreach ($stream as $message) {
                             $index = $stream->index();
@@ -373,15 +366,7 @@ function (array $subscriptions) use ($limit): ProcessedResult {
                     $messageCounter = 0;
 
                     try {
-                        $criteria = new Criteria(new FromIndexCriterion($startIndex));
-
-                        $events = $this->events($subscriptions);
-
-                        if ($events) {
-                            $criteria = $criteria->add(new EventsCriterion($events));
-                        }
-
-                        $stream = $this->messageStore->load($criteria);
+                        $stream = $this->messageLoader->load($startIndex, $subscriptions);
 
                         foreach ($stream as $message) {
                             $index = $stream->index();
@@ -964,7 +949,7 @@ function (array $subscriptions): void {
 
                     if ($subscriber->setupMethod() === null && $subscriber->runMode() === RunMode::FromNow) {
                         if ($latestIndex === null) {
-                            $latestIndex = $this->latestIndex();
+                            $latestIndex = $this->messageLoader->lastIndex();
                         }
 
                         $subscription->changePosition($latestIndex);
@@ -984,13 +969,6 @@ function (array $subscriptions): void {
         );
     }
 
-    private function latestIndex(): int
-    {
-        $stream = $this->messageStore->load(null, 1, null, true);
-
-        return $stream->index() ?: 0;
-    }
-
     /** @param list<Subscription> $subscriptions */
     private function lowestSubscriptionPosition(array $subscriptions): int
     {
@@ -1131,44 +1109,4 @@ private function shouldCommitBatch(Subscription $subscription): bool
 
         return $this->batching[$subscription->id()]->forceCommit();
     }
-
-    /**
-     * @param list<Subscription> $subscriptions
-     *
-     * @return list<string>
-     */
-    private function events(array $subscriptions): array
-    {
-        if ($this->eventMetadataFactory === null) {
-            return [];
-        }
-
-        $eventNames = [];
-
-        foreach ($subscriptions as $subscription) {
-            $subscriber = $this->subscriber($subscription->id());
-
-            if (!$subscriber instanceof MetadataSubscriberAccessor) {
-                return [];
-            }
-
-            $events = $subscriber->events();
-
-            foreach ($events as $event) {
-                if ($event === '*') {
-                    return [];
-                }
-
-                $metadata = $this->eventMetadataFactory->metadata($event);
-
-                $eventNames[$metadata->name] = true;
-
-                foreach ($metadata->aliases as $alias) {
-                    $eventNames[$alias] = true;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-
-        return array_keys($eventNames);
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/Subscription/Engine/EventFilteredMessageLoader.php b/src/Subscription/Engine/EventFilteredMessageLoader.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9d137058
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Subscription/Engine/EventFilteredMessageLoader.php
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine;
+
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Metadata\Event\EventMetadataFactory;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\Criteria;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\EventsCriterion;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Criteria\FromIndexCriterion;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Store;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Stream;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\MetadataSubscriberAccessor;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\SubscriberAccessorRepository;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscription;
+
+use function array_keys;
+
+final class EventFilteredMessageLoader implements MessageLoader
+{
+    public function __construct(
+        private readonly Store $store,
+        private readonly EventMetadataFactory $eventMetadataFactory,
+        private readonly SubscriberAccessorRepository $subscriberRepository,
+    ) {
+    }
+
+    /** @param list<Subscription> $subscriptions */
+    public function load(int $startIndex, array $subscriptions): Stream
+    {
+        $criteria = new Criteria(new FromIndexCriterion($startIndex));
+
+        $events = $this->events($subscriptions);
+
+        if ($events !== []) {
+            $criteria = $criteria->add(new EventsCriterion($events));
+        }
+
+        return $this->store->load($criteria);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param list<Subscription> $subscriptions
+     *
+     * @return list<string>
+     */
+    private function events(array $subscriptions): array
+    {
+        $eventNames = [];
+
+        foreach ($subscriptions as $subscription) {
+            $subscriber =  $this->subscriberRepository->get($subscription->id());
+
+            if (!$subscriber instanceof MetadataSubscriberAccessor) {
+                return [];
+            }
+
+            $events = $subscriber->events();
+
+            foreach ($events as $event) {
+                if ($event === '*') {
+                    return [];
+                }
+
+                $metadata = $this->eventMetadataFactory->metadata($event);
+
+                $eventNames[$metadata->name] = true;
+
+                foreach ($metadata->aliases as $alias) {
+                    $eventNames[$alias] = true;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        return array_keys($eventNames);
+    }
+
+    public function lastIndex(): int
+    {
+        $stream = $this->store->load(null, 1, null, true);
+
+        return $stream->index() ?: 0;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Subscription/Engine/MessageLoader.php b/src/Subscription/Engine/MessageLoader.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1bdf5a65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Subscription/Engine/MessageLoader.php
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine;
+
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Stream;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscription;
+
+interface MessageLoader
+{
+    /** @param list<Subscription> $subscriptions */
+    public function load(int $startIndex, array $subscriptions): Stream;
+
+    public function lastIndex(): int;
+}
diff --git a/tests/Benchmark/SubscriptionEngineBench.php b/tests/Benchmark/SubscriptionEngineBench.php
index 2dc0631d..4f41d000 100644
--- a/tests/Benchmark/SubscriptionEngineBench.php
+++ b/tests/Benchmark/SubscriptionEngineBench.php
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\DoctrineDbalStore;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\Store;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine\DefaultSubscriptionEngine;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine\EventFilteredMessageLoader;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine\SubscriptionEngine;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Store\DoctrineSubscriptionStore;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Subscriber\MetadataSubscriberAccessorRepository;
@@ -70,16 +71,21 @@ public function setUp(): void
 
         $this->repository->save($profile);
 
+        $subscriberAccessorRepository = new MetadataSubscriberAccessorRepository(
+            [
+                new ProfileProjector($connection),
+                new SendEmailProcessor(),
+            ],
+        );
+
         $this->subscriptionEngine = new DefaultSubscriptionEngine(
-            $this->store,
-            $subscriptionStore,
-            new MetadataSubscriberAccessorRepository(
-                [
-                    new ProfileProjector($connection),
-                    new SendEmailProcessor(),
-                ],
+            new EventFilteredMessageLoader(
+                $this->store,
+                new AttributeEventMetadataFactory(),
+                $subscriberAccessorRepository,
             ),
-            eventMetadataFactory: new AttributeEventMetadataFactory(),
+            $subscriptionStore,
+            $subscriberAccessorRepository,
         );
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/Integration/Subscription/SubscriptionTest.php b/tests/Integration/Subscription/SubscriptionTest.php
index 56db3700..4ca5035b 100644
--- a/tests/Integration/Subscription/SubscriptionTest.php
+++ b/tests/Integration/Subscription/SubscriptionTest.php
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Store\DoctrineDbalStore;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine\CatchUpSubscriptionEngine;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine\DefaultSubscriptionEngine;
+use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine\EventFilteredMessageLoader;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\Engine\SubscriptionEngineCriteria;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\RetryStrategy\ClockBasedRetryStrategy;
 use Patchlevel\EventSourcing\Subscription\RunMode;
@@ -94,11 +95,12 @@ public function testHappyPath(): void
 
         $schemaDirector->create();
 
+        $subscriberRepository = new MetadataSubscriberAccessorRepository([new ProfileProjection($this->projectionConnection)]);
+
         $engine = new DefaultSubscriptionEngine(
-            $store,
+            new EventFilteredMessageLoader($store, new AttributeEventMetadataFactory(), $subscriberRepository),
             $subscriptionStore,
-            new MetadataSubscriberAccessorRepository([new ProfileProjection($this->projectionConnection)]),
-            eventMetadataFactory: new AttributeEventMetadataFactory(),
+            $subscriberRepository,
         );
 
         self::assertEquals(