diff --git a/crates/ember-core/Cargo.toml b/crates/ember-core/Cargo.toml
index b84a020c..d0c72170 100644
--- a/crates/ember-core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/ember-core/Cargo.toml
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ rand = { workspace = true }
 ordered-float = { workspace = true }
 prost-reflect = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 usearch = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+ahash = "0.8"
 dashmap = "6"
 parking_lot = "0.12"
 
diff --git a/crates/ember-core/src/engine.rs b/crates/ember-core/src/engine.rs
index f5976660..801d1a00 100644
--- a/crates/ember-core/src/engine.rs
+++ b/crates/ember-core/src/engine.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 //! of the key. Each shard is an independent tokio task — no locks on
 //! the hot path.
 
-use std::collections::hash_map::DefaultHasher;
 use std::hash::{Hash, Hasher};
 
 use crate::dropper::DropHandle;
@@ -198,11 +197,12 @@ impl Engine {
 
 /// Pure function: maps a key to a shard index.
 ///
-/// Uses `DefaultHasher` (SipHash) and modulo. Deterministic within a
-/// single process — that's all we need for local sharding. CRC16 will
-/// replace this when cluster-level slot assignment arrives.
+/// Uses ahash (AHash) for fast, non-cryptographic hashing. ~3x faster
+/// than SipHash for short keys. Deterministic within a single process —
+/// that's all we need for local sharding. Shard routing is trusted
+/// internal logic so DoS-resistant hashing is unnecessary here.
 fn shard_index(key: &str, shard_count: usize) -> usize {
-    let mut hasher = DefaultHasher::new();
+    let mut hasher = ahash::AHasher::default();
     key.hash(&mut hasher);
     (hasher.finish() as usize) % shard_count
 }
diff --git a/crates/ember-core/src/keyspace.rs b/crates/ember-core/src/keyspace.rs
index 5f82232a..4dc40a92 100644
--- a/crates/ember-core/src/keyspace.rs
+++ b/crates/ember-core/src/keyspace.rs
@@ -369,6 +369,27 @@ impl Keyspace {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Retrieves the raw `Bytes` for a string key, avoiding the `Value`
+    /// enum wrapper. `Bytes::clone()` is a cheap refcount increment.
+    ///
+    /// Returns `Err(WrongType)` if the key holds a non-string value.
+    pub fn get_string(&mut self, key: &str) -> Result<Option<Bytes>, WrongType> {
+        if self.remove_if_expired(key) {
+            return Ok(None);
+        }
+        match self.entries.get_mut(key) {
+            Some(e) => match &e.value {
+                Value::String(b) => {
+                    let data = b.clone(); // Bytes::clone is a refcount bump
+                    e.touch();
+                    Ok(Some(data))
+                }
+                _ => Err(WrongType),
+            },
+            None => Ok(None),
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Returns the type name of the value at `key`, or "none" if missing.
     pub fn value_type(&mut self, key: &str) -> &'static str {
         if self.remove_if_expired(key) {
diff --git a/crates/ember-core/src/shard.rs b/crates/ember-core/src/shard.rs
index c17dc5e6..f9bfafd1 100644
--- a/crates/ember-core/src/shard.rs
+++ b/crates/ember-core/src/shard.rs
@@ -775,8 +775,8 @@ fn dispatch(
     #[cfg(feature = "protobuf")] schema_registry: &Option<crate::schema::SharedSchemaRegistry>,
 ) -> ShardResponse {
     match req {
-        ShardRequest::Get { key } => match ks.get(key) {
-            Ok(val) => ShardResponse::Value(val),
+        ShardRequest::Get { key } => match ks.get_string(key) {
+            Ok(val) => ShardResponse::Value(val.map(Value::String)),
             Err(_) => ShardResponse::WrongType,
         },
         ShardRequest::Set {
diff --git a/crates/ember-protocol/src/command.rs b/crates/ember-protocol/src/command.rs
index 923e4f25..b46f7501 100644
--- a/crates/ember-protocol/src/command.rs
+++ b/crates/ember-protocol/src/command.rs
@@ -680,11 +680,17 @@ impl Command {
 }
 
 /// Extracts a UTF-8 string from a Bulk or Simple frame.
+///
+/// Validates UTF-8 in-place on the Bytes buffer to avoid an
+/// intermediate Vec<u8> allocation from `to_vec()`.
 fn extract_string(frame: &Frame) -> Result<String, ProtocolError> {
     match frame {
-        Frame::Bulk(data) => String::from_utf8(data.to_vec()).map_err(|_| {
-            ProtocolError::InvalidCommandFrame("command name is not valid utf-8".into())
-        }),
+        Frame::Bulk(data) => {
+            let s = std::str::from_utf8(data).map_err(|_| {
+                ProtocolError::InvalidCommandFrame("command name is not valid utf-8".into())
+            })?;
+            Ok(s.to_owned())
+        }
         Frame::Simple(s) => Ok(s.clone()),
         _ => Err(ProtocolError::InvalidCommandFrame(
             "expected bulk or simple string for command name".into(),