diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4c7aaba..d2d65ba 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ All notable changes to Torque will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.16.1] - 2026-08-28
+
+### Fixed
+- **Multi-stream `XREADGROUP` stranded every message but the first.** A worker polls all eligible streams in one `XREADGROUP ... COUNT 1 STREAMS a b c`, and Redis returns up to `COUNT` entries *per stream*. `parseXreadgroupResponse()` returned only the first stream's entry, so the other entries were delivered to the consumer (in its PEL) and never handed to a Fiber; they waited until `retry_after` let another worker steal them (30 minutes on scrpr's `slowSync`, 2 hours on `slowScrpr`) and, if that worker was busy on a hot stream, were stranded again. Every delivered entry is now parsed and queued in a per-worker prefetch buffer that `readNextMessage()` drains before issuing the next read (same for the periodic own-PEL read). No config or data changes.
+
 ## [0.16.0] - 2026-08-28
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/src/Worker/WorkerProcess.php b/src/Worker/WorkerProcess.php
index e55a7b0..3ebd0f7 100644
--- a/src/Worker/WorkerProcess.php
+++ b/src/Worker/WorkerProcess.php
@@ -87,6 +87,17 @@ final class WorkerProcess
      */
     private array $streamActive = [];
 
+    /**
+     * Messages already delivered to this consumer by a multi-stream XREADGROUP
+     * but not yet handed to a Fiber. Redis returns up to COUNT entries per
+     * stream, so one read can deliver more than one message; anything beyond
+     * the first is queued here and served before the next XREADGROUP, otherwise
+     * it would sit in the PEL until retry_after lets another worker steal it.
+     *
+     * @var list<array{stream: string, id: string, payload: string}>
+     */
+    private array $prefetched = [];
+
     /** Limits — set once in run(), checked by timers to know when to cancel. */
     private int $maxJobs = 10_000;
 
@@ -618,46 +629,66 @@ public function releaseConsumer(
      */
     private function parseXreadgroupResponse(mixed $result): ?array
     {
-        if ($result === null) {
+        $messages = $this->parseXreadgroupMessages($result);
+
+        if ($messages === []) {
             return null;
         }
 
+        $first = array_shift($messages);
+
+        foreach ($messages as $message) {
+            $this->prefetched[] = $message;
+        }
+
+        return $first;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Every message in an XREADGROUP reply, in stream order.
+     *
+     * @return list<array{stream: string, id: string, payload: string}>
+     */
+    private function parseXreadgroupMessages(mixed $result): array
+    {
+        if ($result === null || ! is_array($result)) {
+            return [];
+        }
+
+        $parsed = [];
+
         foreach ($result as $streamData) {
             if ($streamData === null) {
                 continue;
             }
 
             $streamKey = (string) $streamData[0];
-            $messages = $streamData[1] ?? [];
 
-            if ($messages === []) {
-                continue;
-            }
+            foreach ($streamData[1] ?? [] as $message) {
+                $messageId = (string) $message[0];
+                $fields = $message[1];
 
-            $message = $messages[0];
-            $messageId = (string) $message[0];
-            $fields = $message[1];
+                $payload = null;
+                for ($i = 0, $count = count($fields); $i < $count; $i += 2) {
+                    if ((string) $fields[$i] === 'payload') {
+                        $payload = (string) $fields[$i + 1];
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
 
-            $payload = null;
-            for ($i = 0, $count = count($fields); $i < $count; $i += 2) {
-                if ((string) $fields[$i] === 'payload') {
-                    $payload = (string) $fields[$i + 1];
-                    break;
+                if ($payload === null) {
+                    continue;
                 }
-            }
 
-            if ($payload === null) {
-                continue;
+                $parsed[] = [
+                    'stream' => $streamKey,
+                    'id' => $messageId,
+                    'payload' => $payload,
+                ];
             }
-
-            return [
-                'stream' => $streamKey,
-                'id' => $messageId,
-                'payload' => $payload,
-            ];
         }
 
-        return null;
+        return $parsed;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -966,6 +997,10 @@ private function readNextMessage(
         string $consumerGroup,
         \Closure $buildStreamKey,
     ): ?array {
+        if ($this->prefetched !== []) {
+            return array_shift($this->prefetched);
+        }
+
         $args = ['GROUP', $consumerGroup, $this->consumerId, 'COUNT', '1', 'STREAMS'];
 
         foreach ($queues as $queue) {
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Worker/WorkerPrefetchTest.php b/tests/Unit/Worker/WorkerPrefetchTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1a7864
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Unit/Worker/WorkerPrefetchTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+use Webpatser\Torque\Worker\WorkerProcess;
+
+use function Fledge\Async\Redis\createRedisClient;
+
+/**
+ * A multi-stream XREADGROUP with COUNT 1 delivers up to one entry per stream.
+ * Every delivered entry must reach a Fiber; the ones beyond the first are
+ * buffered and served before the next read instead of being stranded in the
+ * PEL until retry_after (scrpr 2026-08-28: slowSync Persist parts waited
+ * 30 minutes each while the default stream was busy).
+ */
+function makeWorker(): WorkerProcess
+{
+    return new WorkerProcess(['redis' => ['uri' => 'redis://127.0.0.1:6379'], 'queues' => ['default', 'slowSync']]);
+}
+
+function parseResponse(WorkerProcess $worker, mixed $result): ?array
+{
+    return (new ReflectionMethod(WorkerProcess::class, 'parseXreadgroupResponse'))->invoke($worker, $result);
+}
+
+function prefetched(WorkerProcess $worker): array
+{
+    return (new ReflectionProperty(WorkerProcess::class, 'prefetched'))->getValue($worker);
+}
+
+it('returns the first delivered message and buffers the rest', function () {
+    $worker = makeWorker();
+
+    $first = parseResponse($worker, [
+        ['torque:default', [['1-0', ['payload', 'a']]]],
+        ['torque:slowSync', [['2-0', ['payload', 'b']], ['3-0', ['payload', 'c']]]],
+    ]);
+
+    expect($first)->toBe(['stream' => 'torque:default', 'id' => '1-0', 'payload' => 'a'])
+        ->and(prefetched($worker))->toBe([
+            ['stream' => 'torque:slowSync', 'id' => '2-0', 'payload' => 'b'],
+            ['stream' => 'torque:slowSync', 'id' => '3-0', 'payload' => 'c'],
+        ]);
+});
+
+it('skips null streams and entries without a payload field', function () {
+    $worker = makeWorker();
+
+    $first = parseResponse($worker, [
+        null,
+        ['torque:default', [['1-0', ['other', 'x']]]],
+        ['torque:slowSync', [['2-0', ['payload', 'b']]]],
+    ]);
+
+    expect($first)->toBe(['stream' => 'torque:slowSync', 'id' => '2-0', 'payload' => 'b'])
+        ->and(prefetched($worker))->toBe([]);
+});
+
+it('returns null for an empty reply and leaves the buffer untouched', function () {
+    $worker = makeWorker();
+
+    expect(parseResponse($worker, null))->toBeNull()
+        ->and(parseResponse($worker, []))->toBeNull()
+        ->and(prefetched($worker))->toBe([]);
+});
+
+it('serves buffered messages before reading from Redis again', function () {
+    $worker = makeWorker();
+    parseResponse($worker, [
+        ['torque:default', [['1-0', ['payload', 'a']]]],
+        ['torque:slowSync', [['2-0', ['payload', 'b']]]],
+    ]);
+
+    // With a non-empty buffer readNextMessage returns before touching Redis,
+    // so a client on a port nothing listens on proves the read is skipped.
+    $redis = createRedisClient('redis://127.0.0.1:1');
+
+    $next = (new ReflectionMethod(WorkerProcess::class, 'readNextMessage'))
+        ->invoke($worker, $redis, ['default', 'slowSync'], 'torque:', 'torque', fn (string $q) => 'torque:'.$q);
+
+    expect($next)->toBe(['stream' => 'torque:slowSync', 'id' => '2-0', 'payload' => 'b'])
+        ->and(prefetched($worker))->toBe([]);
+});